Last Resort
by Naruxsakuluver
Summary: Naruto dies in the VotE battle. But using a last resort, Kyuubi manages to revive him nearly three years later. But there's no way that he can return to his friends as himself. So, he returns... as someone else? WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH NaruSaku
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Sasuke!"

Naruto pulled himself out of the water gathering below him. His clothes were drenched, soaking him to the bone. He shook the excess water from his body before glaring up at his supposed best friend. Something was different about him, something he didn't like.

The Uchiha jumped down from his perch, landing a few yards away from him. His eyes were a crimson red, signaling use of the sharingan. His lips were distorted in a thin line, his expression emotionless.

"Sasuke, what are you doing? Just come back to the village already!"

"No."

Sasuke leaped into the air, his hands working fast to perform the appropriate hand signs. "**Katon: Housenka no jutsu!" **

Hundreds of heated fireballs flew directly at the blond. Their heat was excruciating, a kind of temperature that could burn skin in an instant. At the last second, he dodged the fiery missiles, leaping into the air. It made for a quick evasion.

"We're supposed to be friends!" Naruto shouted, anger beginning to boil deep in his core. He didn't want to have to fight him. They were teammates!

"Hn." Sasuke hurled his body into the air so that it was parallel to Naruto's. He narrowed his eyes at the blond and brought his fist back. Before the blond could anticipate his actions and dodge the oncoming attack, he sent it hurling at his face. It connected directly underneath his eye.

Naruto was sent whirling towards the ground. He hit the earth with a large splash, water lurching upwards upon impact.

Sasuke dropped to the ground, a few yards away from where Naruto crashed. He eyed the area closely, his eyes narrowing once again. He was sure that Naruto wouldn't be defeated that easily.

Naruto lay floating on the surface of the water. He couldn't believe this…

_'There's…no doubt about it. You're serious.' _

Naruto pushed himself up so that he could was above water. His hair, dripping wet, hung in his face. If it wasn't for his headband, it would be obstructing his view. _'You're really trying to kill me…'_

Sasuke visibly tensed once he saw Naruto get up. "Just give up, dobe."

Naruto clenched his teeth, standing up straight. His hands clenched at his sides. "No. I worked too hard for this bond! I'm not just going to give it up!"

The young Uchiha glared, annoyed at the outburst. "So be it."

* * *

"Stop holding back!" Sasuke ordered, launching a bone shattering punch to Naruto's stomach. The blond gasped at the sudden impact, blood emitting from his mouth. Sasuke grabbed him by his collar, holding him close.

Naruto brought his knee up, knocking it into Sasuke's gut. The other boy quickly loosened his grasp, making it easy to escape the hold he had on him. The blond jumped back, landing on his feet.

The curse mark was traveling across the Uchiha's face, covering his entire upper body. The markings glowed a bright red before settling into an omniscient black. His hands began to form the hand signs for what he thought would be his final attack. "**Chidori!**"

The sound of a thousand birds chirping made its way to Naruto's ears. It was a sound that made his heart pump faster than was usual. "**Kage Bunshin no jutsu!**"

A clone appeared beside him and together they began to form a rasengan. Sasuke started to charge for him, the chidori crackling in his palm. The clone dispersed and Naruto ran forward, ready to collide with the opposite technique. He wouldn't lose. He was determined to beat him!

Once the two techniques collided, a bright light enveloped the two of them. Naruto and Sasuke repelled each other, sending one another in opposite directions. They both splashed into the rising water, possibly a few hundred yards between them.

They both reappeared at the same time. Pulling themselves from the water, they stared one another down. An orange chakra began to gather around Naruto's body, attaching itself to him. The water surrounding him began to whirl around, forming a mini hurricane around him.

**"Sasuke!" **Even his voice sounded different. **"I won't let Orochimaru have you! Even if I have to break every bone in your arms and legs, I _will_ stop you!" **

The red chakra disappeared from Naruto, although changes in his appearance remained. His nails appeared longer, shaped into claws, and his whisker marks seemed to appear more distinct. His eyes had changed from a piercing blue to a menacing red, his pupils turned to slits.

"What…are you?" Sasuke verbalized, squinting.

"Your friend!"

* * *

Naruto slowly got up from the pile of rubble that Sasuke had punched him into. Rocks fell from the newly created crater as he crawled out of it. Whatever had just happened, he couldn't even explain. The only thing he was sure of, was that Sasuke had undergone a serious change. He wasn't even recognizable anymore.

"It looks like neither of us have time to fool around," Sasuke spoke. He smirked a smirk that sent shivers down Naruto's spine. He pressed his hands together to do a series of hand signs. **"Chidori!" **

Naruto wasted no time. It was one thing that he couldn't afford to lose at the moment. Time. Sasuke was out to kill him, and he refused to let that happen. **"Rasengan!"**

The separate techniques glowed in their hands. Each one appeared more sinister than before, as a result of their new transformations. Silently, the only sound coming from the two whirling techniques, they launched themselves into the air. They aimed their techniques at one another, making the other their target. As they drew closer, they prepared themselves for impact.

Soon, the Rasengan and the Chidori met in the middle of their creators. They clashed, each trying to gain the upper hand over the other. While the battle raged, the creators stared at each other. Sasuke's eyes radiated hatred and the purpose to win. Naruto's only displayed determination.

**"Rasengan!"**

**"Chidori!"**

**_SPLAT!_**

**_SCRATCH!_**

**_

* * *

_**

"I'm beginning to pick up a scent of blood, boss," Pakkun, one of Hatake Kakashi's nin-dog's, assessed. They were traveling through the trees as fast as possible, hoping to catch up to Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke before it was too late.

"I see. We'd better hurry. Pick up the pace," the silver-haired ninja ordered. He channeled more chakra to his feet in order to produce more speed. No good ever came from the scent of blood.

"Right boss."

Soon, the duo landed in the stone valley known as the valley of the end. The entire area looked to be trashed beyond repair. Rubble was tossed everywhere and the stone statues looked to have crumbled a bit as well. It seemed as if two entities had battled amongst this place.

Now, he could even smell the blood himself. It was a nauseating scent, and it was nearly overpowering his sense of smell. Shaking the scent from his mindset, he began to search for his two students. No doubt that they were the ones to create this massive destruction.

A single raindrop fell upon his head. Then another, and another. Soon, millions of water droplets were falling from above, as if the skies were weeping. It looked like a bad omen.

Scanning the area using every one of his senses, he searched for his two students. They had to have still been here. At least one of them had to. The scent of blood was too strong for them to have just disappeared.

He spotted them both near the waterfall at the edge of the valley. They were bother next to each other, probably closer than they'd ever been. Naruto was laying down, facing the sky as the clouds rained down on him. Kneeling above him was Sasuke, who seemed to be in a peaceful state. To be honest, he couldn't figure out who was the most injured at the moment.

He walked closer to them, taking his time. Now that he knew that they were fine and accounted for, he could rest easy. His swiftly beating heart could slow down for a moment.

However, as he got closer to the two, he could see that he had underestimated the damage of the battle. Once he was directly upon them, he could see heavy amounts of reddish liquid pouring from underneath the young Uzumaki boy. Sasuke didn't even seem to register that Kakashi had arrived. He was in a trance.

"Sasuke, what happened?" Kakashi asked quickly, kneeling beside Naruto to assess the damage. He motioned for Pakkun to call in for a medic squad.

"He pulled away," Sasuke replied unemotionally. He continued to stare down at the Uzumaki. "The idiot pulled away."

Kakashi turned his gaze on the Uchiha for a brief moment while adding pressure to a few of Naruto's wounds. No doubt that the fox would heal the minor ones himself in no time. What Kakashi really needed to focus on, were the big ones. "What happened, Sasuke?" he repeated.

Sasuke turned his emotionless gaze on his sensei as he began to replay the events leading up to the recently injured Naruto. He tried his best to describe he and Naruto's transformations, but he couldn't seem to find the right words.

Kakashi listened carefully throughout the entire explanation, not interrupting even once. He was too busy berating himself for teaching Sasuke the Chidori in the first place. If he hadn't, maybe the battle wouldn't have gotten as far as it did.

He sighed. No time for that now. He had to make sure that Naruto was okay. Once that was taken care of, then he could begin to properly beat himself up. Until then, Naruto was his main priority.

"I killed him, didn't I?" Sasuke spoke, his voice nearly inaudible. He still hadn't removed his gaze from his blond teammate.

"There's no way to be sure." Kakashi eased the blond into a sitting position and tossed him onto his back. "Let's go. We can't afford to just sit around and wait. Naruto's life may be at stake."

Sasuke stood along with his sensei. "But what about the-"

"We'll meet the medics halfway. Let's go."

Kakashi moved through the forest, struggling to keep Naruto steady on his back. They were moving as quickly as possible, their feet barely touching the branches before they were off again.

Naruto's body felt cool to the touch. His hands were icy around his neck and Kakashi hadn't felt a single warm breath since they'd left the valley. There was a slight possibility that Naruto's breath had just become small enough that he couldn't sense it but it seemed that the Uzumaki's fate had already been decided. He would probably die before they even reached the gates. Kakashi just hoped that the fox would be able to heal his wounds enough to enable him to live for just a little longer. Just long enough for Tsunade to get her hands on him.

"Kakashi… I'm sorry," Sasuke muttered. "I swear I didn't mean to-"

"There's no time for that, Sasuke. The main objective is trying to get Naruto back to the village in time," the elder ninja replied. He sped up in pace, the sudden reminder seeming to give him the energy to excel.

_'Naruto… Just a little farther.' _

Soon, they came upon the Gates of Konoha. They wasted no time in running into the village, hurrying to the hospital. Even if Tsunade wasn't there at the moment, they could get Naruto some minor help before she arrived. It would help in the slightest of ways, maybe even save his life.

Once inside the hospital, the quickly had Naruto given emergency attention. As soon as Kakashi was sure that Naruto was in good hands, he took off for the Hokage's office, leaving Sasuke to stay at the hospital. He took the shortest route possible, jumping over building after building to reach the tower. Once there, he jumped in through the window to evade having to use the door.

The Hokage looked startled by his entrance. "Kakashi, what is the meaning of this?"

"Lady Tsunade, Naruto's in trouble."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Sasuke sat in the waiting room of the hospital, his arms crossed over his chest. He tried not to show his distress over the situation and so far, it looked as if he was succeeding. His eyes were black with uncaring emotion and his lips were pressed together in a firm line.

Kakashi-sensei sat in a steel chair beside him. His visible eye was peacefully closed shut and his breathing had become a low, steady hum. Sasuke was sure that he deserved the rest. He'd been working hard to make sure that Naruto's life was not compromised.

Sasuke wondered how many people knew of Naruto's condition. Not many people had shown up to the hospital since they'd been there. Although, that wasn't exactly saying much.

Then again, how many people even knew that the last Uchiha survivor had returned? He was nearly positive that no one had gone to report the mission's success after they'd returned to the village.

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke turned at the sound of his name being called. Standing in front of him was none other than Haruno Sakura. The last time he'd seen her was when she'd been begging him to stay in the village. And when he'd brutally knocked her out and left her laying on a stone bench.

"Sakura," he greeted quietly.

She continued to stand there, staring at him. Her eyes never left his face, although he refused to make eye contact. Although, what else was new?

"When did you get back?" she asked, clutching her hands to her chest. It was the same position that they had been in when she had begged him to stay.

"Just now," he replied. He wondered why she was there. Had news of Naruto's condition spread so quickly? "Are you here for Naruto?"

"Huh? No, I- Wait, Naruto's here?" Apparently, it hadn't. "Is he okay?"

Sasuke looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time. "No."

**[X][X][X]**

"He's crashing!"

"Quick, get me a-"

Tsunade was nothing but nerves as Naruto's injured body was operated on. His injuries when he first arrived were enough to make any medic sweat. Even one of her caliber. They'd been working on him for hours, but hadn't seemed to be getting anywhere. Now, he was crashing.

The next few minutes were nothing but chaos. Every medic in the room went into a frenzy, working to make the boy stable once again. His organs were failing, one after another. It wouldn't be long before-

**_Beeeeeeep._**

At the dissonant sound, something seemed to snap inside Tsunade. She pushed the nearest medic-nin out of her way and tried her best to revive the boy. Tears brimmed in her eyes, refusing to fall, as she pressed her freshly glowing hands on him.

"No! Wake up! Wake up, Damnit!"

She continued to pour her chakra into him, hoping the sound would go away.

"Lady Tsunade, stop it!" Shizune appeared behind her, dragging her away from the newly lifeless boy. "You've done all you can. He's gone…"

The tears in Tsunade's eyes left their prisons. The fell down her cheeks as she listened to the sound, stared at the boy. Shizune's words stung her. They hurt more than the harsh sound did.

He was gone.

She allowed Shizune to bring her out of the room. She feared that if she stayed, she wouldn't be able to control her emotions any longer. Together, Tsunade and Shizune made their way to the hospital's waiting room. There, they knew that they would find Naruto's teammates.

Needless to say, the three other members of squad seven were present in the small waiting room. Tsunade was slightly surprised that Sakura was sitting next to Sasuke in one of the plastic chairs, although she didn't question it. She had undergone so much mental strain in the last few hours that it was nearly impossible for her to do so.

When she entered the room, Naruto's teammates all turned their attention toward her. She quickly tried to hide the pain on her face, having already wiped away the tears.

"Hokage-sama, how's Naruto? Is he alright?" Sakura questioned, her green eyes shimmering with interest.

The Hokage looked around the room, at each of their worried faces. The anxiety of their teammate's unknown health was surely killing them. Every second that they didn't know if he would be alright, it was breaking them. If it hadn't already caused them emotional exhaustion, it soon would.

She took a deep breath, forcing out the solemn words. "I'm sorry but… he's gone."

**[X][X][X]**

The funeral was bigger than anyone had expected. Not only had the Konoha Eleven attended, but so had many other shinobi and villagers. Even the sand siblings from Suna had arrived, remaining at the back of the group of mourners.

The skies were greyer than normal, dark clouds hovering overhead. They were certainly drunk with rain. Sooner or later, they would all cry the tears that they weren't allowed to shed.

To Sakura, that was the hardest rule to obey.

_'Naruto…'_

Naruto's death was a hard thing to cope with. The entire squad felt that way. He had been their heart, the thing keeping the team from dying out. His undying devotion to being the best was what kept the team running. And now, with him gone, the team would surely die. Nothing can survive without its heart.

"Sakura… I'm sorry."

Sakura turned to face the boy, her eyes flooded with unshed sadness. "It's fine, Sasuke-kun." Even with all the pain he'd caused, she couldn't stop adding the admiring suffix.

The young Uchiha shook his head. "No, it's not fine. I killed our teammate." Although his voice didn't show much regret, his words were enough to prove his guilt.

She gently closed her eyes, the conversation nearly becoming too much to bear. She didn't want to think about this, to talk about it. "He died in the hospital, Sasuke-kun. It wasn't-"

"Stop defending me. He died because I killed him. He was injured because I hurt him … My trial begins tomorrow at noon," Sasuke whispered, keeping his eyes forward.

"Trial?"

He let out an exasperated breath. "A shinobi of Konoha died by my hands, Sakura. No less my teammate. There has to be some sort of consequence for that."

"But-"

"Stop! Stop… defending me. I became just like him. In trying to defeat him I became him. Once again, I'm living in his shadow."

"Sasuke, who's-"

"It's none of your concern..."

Sakura immediately felt a cloud of despair overcome her. For the first time in a long time, she felt undeniably alone. Sasuke would soon be on trial for a crime that he would surely be convicted of. Naruto was…dead, his blood on the hands of his teammate. And Kakashi… he was too emotionally stunted to be there for her, anyway.

In other words, she was on her own.

In the past, Naruto would probably be the one who she would depend on to make her feel better. In times like this, he would be there to smile and say, 'Sakura-chan, don't worry! Everything's gonna be alright!'. But now, he was gone, and she was left to cope on her own. This time, she was mourning for him. She couldn't depend on him forever. She had to learn to take care of herself.

And then she got an idea.

Tsunade was standing in the front row of mourners. Her head was bent low and she hadn't uttered a word during the entire ceremony. Although she was frightened that she would anger the elder woman, Sakura quickly left her place and walked over to the hokage.

"L-Lady Tsunade?" she spoke, each word as soft as a whisper.

The Godaime Hokage looked down at her, her eyes reflecting the pain on her face. "Haruno Sakura. What is it?"

Sakura swallowed, forcing the words to exit her mouth. She was so unsure of her next step, of what she was about to do. But she knew that she had to do it. Naruto would want her to be able to take care of herself. He'd want this. She knew it.

"Tsunade-sama… I have a request. Please… make me your apprentice!"

The words coming from the young girl didn't even seem to surprise her. She only smiled gently, gentler than Sakura ever thought she was capable.

She actually chuckled. "Alright… From this day on, I won't go easy on you."

Sakura had to blink back the surprise. "O-Okay!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It had been dark for a long time. He couldn't even see his own hand. On one of the days that he'd been paying attention in class, he'd learned that eyes only see because light existed. Apparently, light couldn't exist in this place. The darkness swallowed it.

He'd gotten to this dark place somehow… but he couldn't place the exact reason. His memories and knowledge in this place were so foggy. It was as if the darkness was taking away his memories with every instance, every second.

The only thing that he could determine was that he'd been here for a long time. He didn't know how many days, hours, or years that he'd been trapped in the darkness. Time didn't seem to exist in this dark place. The darkness swallowed up time the same way that it had taken his memories and swallowed the light.

**_WHOOSH!_**

A strong wind, the first wind in a long time, blew past him, causing him to close his eyes. Or, what he thought were his eyes. He'd been in the darkness for such a long time that he'd begun to believe he didn't even _have _a body in this place.

When he opened his eyes, or what he thought were his eyes, he could see that the darkness had disappeared. He now saw that he stood in a dimly-lit room, the floor damp with what looked like water. A musky scent emanated from all around, making it hard to breathe in the new air.

_'Hello?'_ He thought. His voice didn't work in this new place, although he wasn't complaining. In the previous setting, he couldn't even _smell_.

Laughter was his reply. Dark, evil laughter that echoed down corridors and corridors of this new place. The sound sent a cold shiver running down his back, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. He didn't welcome it happily.

Against his better judgment, he followed the evil laughter down one of the many corridors. As he walked, he was awed at the sight of his feet splashing in the water-like liquid below.

Eventually, he reached the large room where the dark laughter was originating from. The ground below was flooded with the liquid substance, just as the corridors had been. The light here was just as it had been before, dimly lit. In the back of the room was a giant cage, the bars larger than the width of Naruto's entire body. Whatever was behind them must have been extremely powerful.

On one of the bars was a single piece of paper with writing on it. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it said 'seal'.

**"Enjoying the breath of life, kit?" **A dark voice bellowed from inside the cage. Two giant eyes slowly opened from behind the metal bars. They glowed a reddish hue and the pupils were slit in a way similar to that of a… fox.

Slowly but surely, his memories began to trickle back to him. Gradually, he started to understand things that he wasn't able to comprehend before then. Why he was there, how he got there… He even remembered what this place was and who this creature was.

Millions of sharp teeth appeared below the two floating eyes, forming a sinister smile. **"You're beginning to remember, aren't you?"**

Naruto sunk to his knees on the ground, gripping his head in his palms. "My head hurts," he groaned. The sudden jolt of memory had caused a giant headache to develop.

His pain only caused the fox's grin to widen in size. **"Be lucky you can feel anything at all. If it wasn't for me, you'd be long gone by now."**

Naruto looked up, not understanding. Then a memory hit him, one of his most recent ones. He was surrounded by blinding light, staring Uchiha Sasuke in the eyes as he plunged a deadly attack directly into his chest. He showed no remorse.

'_Sasuke…'_

**"He tried to kill you. Even while you lay dying in front of him, he didn't even move to help you. He just stared."**

A single word caught his attention as the Kyuubi spoke. "_I'm…dead?"_

The kyuubi laughed, the dark sound echoing throughout the room. **"Close enough. The day that you supposedly died, I made last effort at saving both of our lives. I began pumping chakra into your body, healing you beyond what your body was capable of withstanding. Unfortunately, the chakra was causing your organs to fail at critical rates. Even I couldn't save you."**

_"So, I'm dead. And you're the one to blame."_

The fox's eyes narrowed in irritation. **"Listen! I saved your life! Be grateful the yondaime even-"**

_"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I've heard it before. Can you just get on with it?"_

A growl emitted from the giant creature's mouth. **"Brat…" **He muttered. Nonetheless, he continued to explain the confusing tale. **"When your death was unavoidable, I tried a last resort. I allowed you to die for a brief moment, only for an hour or so. During that time, I focused on pumping chakra into your body, focusing on the major organs. I was weakened after your death, and I knew I would be sure to follow. I worked fast, and was able to revive you after that first hour. Although, your injuries from the battle with the Uchiha were still severe. Instead of risking both of our lives again, I tossed you into a coma so I could fully heal you without any complications."**

Naruto nodded at the end of the explanation, his headache easing away. He was beginning to understand the situation more and more as time went by. All he needed now was to get home and visit his friends. He'd been swimming in the darkness for so long that the mental pictures he had of them were beginning to fade.

_"Fox… Can I wake up now? Tsunade-Baa-Chan must be worried about me." _He smiled at the thought of the talented Hokage checking up on him every day, hoping he would wake up soon.

The fox rolled his eyes. **"It's not that easy, Kit. It's been almost three years since your friends have seen you alive. Everyone thinks you're dead."**

Naruto slumped once again. His heart sank. _"So I'm eternally damned? I have to spend the rest of my life just talking to you? I'll never see my friends again?"_

**"It's not exactly the best way I'd like to spend my time, either. Which is why I've already come up with a plan while you were lazily sleeping away the years."**

A bright smile appeared on the boy's face. _"Then what are you waiting for? Let's put that plan into action!"_

**"Listen and I'll explain," **The Kyuubi ordered. **"There's no chance that you can go back to the village as yourself. You'll draw too much attention to yourself. Who knows what kind of chaos will ensue. Instead, you will go as someone entirely different. That way you can see your friends, remain hidden, and get out of my fur. It's nearly full proof."**

Naruto's smile widened, causing his entire face to brighten. "Alright! No time to lose!" He pulled his hands in front of them, moving them to form a single hand sign. "Henge!"

A puff of smoke engulfed the boy, hiding him from view. After a few brief seconds, the cloud began to disperse, showing the boy's new appearance. Where Naruto once stood was now a young man with blond hair the color of Tsunade's. It was now matted down, similar to that of Inuzuka Kiba. His whisker marks had disappeared, replaced by smooth skin on his cheeks. His forehead was no longer covered by his headband but was now swapped with bright orange goggles on his head. The clothes he wore were similar to those of an everyday villager. A dark blue jacket with a black T-shirt underneath and black baggy pants. Eventually, he would switch back to his beloved orange but for that moment, he would settle for the darker colors.

The fox looked impressed. **"Congratulations, kit. You're unrecognizable."**

Naruto smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. He once again relaxed on the floor of the room, staring up at the giant fox. His eyes were filled with speculation. _"What are you thinking about?"_

**"You. You need a new name to complete the disguise. Make sure it's a good one."**

Naruto nodded at the advice. He began to think once more, hoping for the inspiration to come for his new identity. He would use this name for the rest of his life.

He raised his eyes at the Kyuubi once again. _"What about Yamamoto Noboru?"_

**"I could care less. Remember kit, you'll have to start entirely over. This is your chance."**

He nodded, determination set in his gaze. "I'm ready."

**[X][X][X]**

Sakura stared at the cracked squad seven photo laying on her nightstand. The glass had a webbed design on it's surface, scratching out the face of the team's most admired member. It had been that way for almost a year, but she couldn't find it in herself to replace it.

_Knock, Knock_

She listened to the gentle tapping on her door. She didn't move to answer it. Instead, she continued to stare at the broken picture, focusing on the broken team inside.

**_Knock, Knock!_**

Whoever was at the door was becoming impatient. However, the pink haired kunoichi wasn't willing to move. Moving would mean to answer the door and paste on a smile for whoever was on the other side. She just wasn't in the mood.

_Click!_

Her visitor must have let herself in. It must have been Ino or someone of the like. Only a handful of people knew where she left the spare key to her apartment.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice called throughout the home. She must have thought that she was in trouble.

"In here," Sakura answered. She sighed deeply. Turning over on her back, she stared up at the spiral designs on her ceiling. On some days, she liked to count the many swirls, enjoying the distraction. Today wasn't one of those days.

Ino entered the room, a concerned expression across her face. It quickly melted as she stared at the pitiful form of her friend laying on the bed in front of her. She crossed her arms in disappointment. "Wallowing? Really?"

"Go away."

The blonder of the two girls shook her head. "No. Not this year, forehead. I refuse to let you sit around the house today. You're coming with me."

"Go away."

Ino groaned in irritating. She narrowed her eyes at her friend and flopped down on the edge of her bed. "Don't you have to work today, Sakura? Doesn't Tsunade get mad when you're late?"

The young rosette sat up in her bed, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Yes, I have to work today but I'm going in late on purpose. I've worked hard all year, I deserve a little leeway. No, Tsunade won't be mad because she hardly notices anything on this particular day of the year. If you ask me, she's usually too drowned in sake and her own problems to even realize that I'm there or not," she replied, her tone equaling in irritation. Nevertheless, she tossed her blankets off of her body and went to her closet. Slipping inside, she pulled her typical outfit off of a hanger and closed the door to get dressed.

A few moments later, Sakura and Ino were living Sakura's apartment to head for the Hokage's office. She didn't exactly want to go, but felt as if she had no real choice. Ino was right in a way. Even if Tsunade wouldn't be angry with her, she still needed her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Naruto awoke, once again surrounded by darkness. He immediately began to panic, worrying that he'd imagined the confrontation with the giant fox. Sooner or later, he must have went mad from the isolation.

**"Calm down, baka. It's just a coffin. Try moving your hands around."**

At the sound of the Kyuubi's voice, Naruto's paranoia had begun to fade. He took a deep breath. As Kyuubi had instructed, he clenched and unclenched his hands inside of the darkness.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He could move.

**"Good. Now try pushing yourself out. Don't cause too much attention to yourself. Remember, low profile."**

Nodding to himself, Naruto did as he was told. He shifted inside of his coffin until both of his hands were free. It was a tight fit. Taking a deep breath, he pushed on the lid of the coffin, hoping to pop it open. After that, he could worry about digging himself out.

Soon after, it was clear that the casket had been nailed shut. The damned thing wasn't budging an inch. He was only wearing himself out.

_'This isn't working, fox. It's not budging…' _He thought, sinking back into the velvet lining of the casket. He was close to giving up on all of the planning and continuing to rot inside of his own mind.

The fox let out an irritated snarl. **"Lazy idiot. Consider my rent, paid."**

Soon after, Naruto felt a sense of power overcoming him. The red chakra that he had grown accustomed to poured itself out of his body, giving him slightly more strength than he knew he had. Knowing what the fox meant, he pushed roughly on the lid of the coffin for the umpteenth time. This time, the nails holding it down popped out, dirt filling the constricted area.

**"Get out before you suffocate," **The fox ordered. His voice was filled with urgency. Naruto nodded in understanding and moved his hands to claw his way six feet above ground level. With each claw, more dirt fell on his face, inside of his mouth. Kyuubi's warning about suffocation rang in his mind, echoing against the walls of his brain.

Clawing through the thick dirt was tiring. Each strike at the soil took a little more out of him. He hadn't trained his muscles in almost three years. They were underused. Weak.

_"Fox, I-"_

**"Keep moving!"**

Naruto growled inwardly. The command gave him a sudden boost of adrenaline, allowing him to continue digging. His nails filled with dirt as he plowed through the earth, moving towards his freedom.

Finally, he was free. He took a giant gulp of fresh air, filling his lungs with the clean air. He imagined that the coffin must have been filled with stuffy air. His lungs welcomed the change.

For the first time in a long time, he was back in Konoha. He missed it.

Quickly, he dropped to his knees next to his grave and picked up a handful of soil. He moved to swiftly put the dirt back inside the hole. If anyone were to come by and see that his grave had been dug up, it would prove to be a disaster.

Soon, he'd finished with his hasty work. He sat back on his heels and patted the soil down to make it appear as if it had never been touched. If only he had some grass to put over it…

**"No time for what-ifs, Kit."**

_'Right.'_ He stood up from the ground and dusted off his pants. They were entirely too small for him now. The first thing he'd have to do when he got out of the cemetery was to get new clothes.

After he'd dusted himself off, he pressed his hands together to form a hand sign. "Henge," he whispered under his breath. He didn't want to bring too much attention to himself.

In a puff of smoke, he had transformed into the disguise he'd designed inside of his head. In that instant, Naruto Uzumaki had truly died and Yamamoto Noboru had been born. His new identity had been created.

"Ino, what are you doing? The Hokage's office is that way!"

"Come on, forehead. Let's just make a quick stop at the cemetery. Please?"

Ino and Sakura. Naruto's heart beat sped up at the thought of seeing Sakura again. The latest image he had of her was outdated by about two and a half years. And that had been of her crying, begging him to bring back the boy who'd ended his life.

His fists clenched tightly at his sides. _'Sasuke…'_

**"Kit, hide."**

Naruto heeded the fox's warning and jumped behind a giant oak tree in the cemetery. It was wilted and rotted, completing the dreary image of the lot. The plant was clearly enduring a very long and sorrow-filled journey towards death.

From beyond his hiding place, he could hear footsteps and the groaning of the cemetery gate as it opened. The two girls appeared to be in the middle of a heated conversation.

As they discussed, Naruto leaned his head over the side of the old oak. The bark scraped against his cheek as he pressed his body close. He couldn't afford to be caught just yet, especially not near his own grave.

He situated himself so that he could see the two girls clearly from behind the tree. They stood together beside his grave, their conversation seeming to pause for an instant. Sakura ran her hand over the stone inscribed with his name, her face etched with sadness.

He almost wanted to go over to her and tell her not to look so sad. He hated her to look that way.

"Sakura, we should go. I don't want you to be any later than you already are," Ino spoke. It seemed that she had taken over on his responsibility to make her feel better. The realization made his heart sink. They had begun to replace him.

**[X][X][X]**

Sakura removed her hand from the icy stone marking Naruto's grave. Coming here had always made her heart feel heavy. The thought of her deceased teammate underground put a damper on her thoughts.

She turned to look at the reason for her being there. "I'm pretty sure Tsunade won't mind. She's probably drowning in her own sorrows. It's fine," she replied, hoping that she sounded cheerier than she felt. She didn't want anyone to see her wracked with sorrow over Naruto.

Ino's eyes shown with sympathy. "You don't have to stay, Sakura. Sorry I even thought about it. We can go, really," she urged, grabbing a hold of her arm. The touch was gentle, reassuring.

Sakura nodded. "Okay, Ino. Let's-" she stopped short. Something in the cemetery felt off. Somehow, she had the feeling that someone was watching them. They weren't the only ones in the lot. How she had missed it earlier, she would never be able to tell.

"Sakura? What's-"

The pinkette ignored her friend's question. She moved away from her friend's touch, her hand guiding down to her weapons pouch. If her suspicions were correct, she had better stay on guard. "Who's there?" she called.

"Sakura?"

"Ino, someone else is here. Can't you tell?"

The blond become quiet. Sakura could tell that she was trying to sense someone else inside the cemetery. Her breath caught after a second, and her eyes narrowed to slits. "How'd we miss it?"

"I don't know," Sakura replied. She pulled a kunai out of her pouch and pulled it in front of her. In case of attack, she needed to be ready to defend herself quickly. Once again, she called out. "Who's there?"

There was a movement behind the giant oak tree about a yard from their position. Both girls prepared themselves for an attack. They waited silently as a sandaled foot appeared from behind the tree, followed by a leg. Soon, an entire body emerged.

It was a blond boy clad in dark colored clothes. His eyes were a mesmerizing blue and he wore a sheepish smile on his face. He scratched the back of his head as a pinkish hue crawled across his face. "Ha-ha… hey!"

Sakura couldn't remember seeing this boy before. "Who are you and what are you doing in here?" she asked, keeping the kunai level. He didn't look threatening, but she wasn't about to let her guard down.

The boy ceased in scratching his head and stuffed his hands inside his pants pockets. "I'm Yamamoto Noboru. I just arrived to the village last night. A few villagers were talking about this deadbeat ninja who was killed by his teammate a few years back. I came by to see what kind of stuff they put on the loser's-"

**_Tsing!_**

The kunai she had thrown lay nestled in the sleeve of the boy's jacket. It had pinned him to the monstrous oak that was his former hiding place. His eyes were the size of dinner plates as he realized what she'd done.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that! He was an honorable ninja who died a true shinobi's death!" she yelled, her eyes filled with rage.

Ino also jumped into the conversation. "He wasn't a loser! He was-"

"Why do you two even care? The guy was an idiot. He couldn't even dodge an attack. He was a dead last. If you ask me, you should be glad the loser's gone. He was giving your village a bad image," Noboru replied airily. He removed the weapon from his clothing and tossed it to the ground, freeing himself.

"That idiot was my teammate, you bastard!" Sakura yelled, losing control of her anger for a moment. She took a step toward him, her fist clenching to form a fist.

Ino's arm shot out to grab her. "Sakura, stop it. Calm down."

This Noboru boy was set on pissing her off. His arms crossed in front of his chest as he leveled his eyes at her. "Then your team must be the worst one ever invented. If he's your teammate, that means your other teammate is the murderous jackass. You must be proud of how you all turned out. Dead and a killer."

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled, pulling away from Ino's restraining grasp. A deep anger was settling into the pits of her stomach, threatening to explode into every inch of her body. She wouldn't allow him to talk about her team this way!

"Forehead, knock it off! He's just trying to get under your skin."

Sakura closed her eyes, forcing the anger to recede. Her breathing was ragged as she thought of knocking the sense out of the bastard. He didn't have the right to talk about Naruto that way. It was wrong.

Ino was pulling her in the direction of the cemetery gates. "Come on, Sakura. Let's go." The pinkette nodded, her eyes still closed, as she let her friend lead her away from the teasing blond.

Behind them, Noboru continued to speak. Apparently, he was getting confident since they were leaving. "Yeah, see ya later! Say hi to the jackass and the copycat for me, will ya?" He laughed.

Sakura stopped in her tracks. For the second time, she snatched herself from Ino's grasp and whirled to stare at the boy. Ino didn't try to stop her. "What did you just say?" she asked him, an eyebrow raised. Noboru paused. She took a step toward him, arms crossed. "How do you know about Kakashi?"

His eyes widened as he understood he'd said too much. Once again, he went to scratch the back of his neck. She was beginning to realize that he did that when he was nervous. "Everyone knows about him. He's the copycat ninja."

Usually, she would have bought that excuse. However, Noboru's actions were beginning to make her suspicious. His nervous scratching, to be exact. She narrowed her eyes at him, stepping even closer. "How did you know he was my sensei?"

"Hey, I never- I just-"

**_WHAM!_**

"Sakura!"

Sakura grabbed the boy's body and tossed him over her shoulder. She turned to face her friend. "Something's weird about this guy, Ino. Maybe Ibiki can get some insight on him."

**[X][X][X]**

A hand whapped him across the face, leaving a stinging sensation on his cheek. His eyes fluttered open as he was awakened. He felt groggy and he had a massive headache beginning to form.

"Wake up, you son of a bitch!" A male's voice barked at him. He looked up to be face to face with Ibiki, head of interrogation. The man's scarred face was twisted into a stern expression.

As expected, he and Ibiki were not alone. Multiple Anbu were scattered around the room, most guarding the exits in case he tried to make a smooth getaway. Standing on the wall to his right were Ino and Sakura, both wearing similar expressions as Ibiki.

He had a feeling that he was in deep shit. Ibiki was the master of interrogation and torture and was ace at messing with people's minds. There was no doubt in his mind that this would not be a very pleasant experience for him. It may very well traumatize him for the rest of his new life.

Ibiki's hand came back, slapping him into reality. The stinging sensation returned. "Start talking, asshole," he ordered. His face promised pain if he didn't comply.

Naruto swallowed hard. "What do you want to know?" he asked, hoping to sound innocent.

"Name," Ibiki growled.

"Na-Noboru. Yamamoto Noboru."

Ibiki smiled, his teeth dangerously threatening. "You stammered. You wouldn't be trying to lie to me, would you?"

"No sir!"

"Remove your lips from my ass, kid. It won't help you in the slightest."

Naruto nodded and Ibiki continued with the interrogation. With each question, he became more anxious. Ibiki's appearance alone was enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The scars lining his face and head were both revolting and intimidating.

By the end of the interrogation, he was both physically and mentally exhausted. Keeping up the henge continuously was a tiring duty. Even the chakra that the Kyuubi had lent him was beginning to run dry. He hoped that he would be able to release it soon enough.

"Yamanaka, Haruno, get him out of here and instated as a Konoha shinobi. He's fine enough not to pose a threat, but I'll have Inoichi check him out tomorrow morning. Until then, take him to Tsunade."

The two girls nodded and obeyed his orders. They roughly grabbed him and began the journey to the Hokage's office. Each of them walked entirely too quickly for his liking and he was barely able to keep up. His chakra resources were thinning.

Sakura seemed to grow impatient with his slacking. "Hurry up! We haven't got all day, Noboru." She yanked on one of his arms, roughly dragging him forward.

He gasped at the sudden jolt. She had obviously gotten stronger since he'd last seen her. Even when they were younger, he couldn't remember her possessing so much strength.

Without realizing it, he began to fall behind again. His feet dragged underneath him as he forced himself onward. He was exhausted, more so than he'd ever been in his life. The henge was taking a lot out of him.

This time, it was Ino who pulled him forward. "Noboru!"

He coughed, picking up speed. It wasn't long before the trio reached the Hokage's office and were standing outside of the large doors. Two anbu guarded them, neither one seeming to acknowledge their presence.

"We're here to see Tsunade-shishou," Sakura explained to the elite operatives. "It's an important matter."

The two anbu nodded and allowed them through. They pushed open the doors and walked inside. The Hokage sat behind her desk, her head face down on a stack of papers. A sake bottle sat at on the floor beside her, a tiny cup near her head.

Sakura looked disappointed. She walked over to the elder woman and gently tapped her shoulder. "Tsunade-shishou, wake up," she whispered. The blond woman moved in her sleep, muttering something under her breath.

Sakura continued to shake her, increasing in power as the seconds ticked by. Eventually, Tsunade's eyes fluttered open, widening as she realized that she wasn't alone in the room. She quickly moved to straighten up her desk, hiding the sake further behind her desk. "Sakura, what is it?" she asked, her voice stern.

The younger girl walked over to Noboru and Ino, who both continued to stand near the door. She pointed to the only male in the room. "Him. His name is Yamamoto Noboru. He's recently arrived to the village and Ibiki sent him to you to instate him as a Konoha shinobi."

Tsunade nodded, having straightened herself up. She opened one of the drawers in her massive desk and pulled out a paper. She placed it on her desk and picked up a pen. "What was your rank before coming to Konoha?"

Noboru grinned sheepishly. A blush snaked across his cheeks. "A genin," he replied underneath his breath.

Sakura's eyes widened. A genin? She could have sworn that he was higher ranked than that.

"Honesty. I like it." Tsunade nodded again, scratching something down on the form. "Do you have a particular specialty of any sort?" she asked.

He touched a hand to his chin, seeming to think about it. He turned back to her, bobbing his head up and down. "Kage Bunshin."

"Kage…bunshin?"

Noboru seemed to notice Tsunade's hesitation. He pressed his hands together in a hand sign to provide a demonstration. "**Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" **he shouted. Over a dozen popping sounds ensued, indicating the development of shadow clones. Smoke clouded their vision for a brief moment, causing them to become temporarily blind. Sakura took note of the situation and got into a stance to defend herself. Noboru was still a stranger, and she was not about to be caught off guard.

The smoke cleared without any complications, enabling everyone to see. Standing before them were a dozen other Noboru's, the original seeming to be wiped out. His eyes drooped lazily and the smile he wore sagged at the corners.

Still, the clones were impressive. Being able to create that many in such a state was remarkable. The boy must have possessed exceedingly large chakra stores.

Tsunade nodded, her eyebrows raised in satisfaction. "Impressive. Kage bunshin could prove to be an incredibly useful tool in battle. As a matter of fact…" she turned her head to face the rosette in the room. "Sakura, have I assigned a replacement for squad seven, yet?"

Sakura's eyes widened. Suspicion began to grow inside of her. "No, shishou." She briefly thought of questioning her mentor's observation, but decided against it.

"Good. From now on, I'm placing Yamamoto Noboru on squad seven as a replacement member," the Hokage stated with finality.

Sakura's heard sped up. No, she couldn't be thinking of replacing… "But Tsunade-shishou, what about Na… him? You can't possibly be thinking of-"

"Are you questioning my judgment, Sakura?" the elder woman asked, raising a blond eyebrow. Her elbows rested upon her desk as she lay her head in the bridge of her hands. Her eyes narrowed, seeming to dare Sakura to speak further on the subject.

The younger girl shook her head, resting her eyes on the floor. She couldn't believe that Tsunade would think of replacing _him_. She was usually so adamant about keeping his spot open, allowing no one to take it even for the briefest of missions. What was wrong with her now? "No, Tsunade-shishou," she replied, keeping her head bowed.

A smile crept onto Tsunade's face. "Good. Dismissed."

**[X][X][X]**

Sasuke sat inside of his home, making himself a bowl of ramen. It was the only thing to eat at the time. He brushed a bang from his eyes and set the water to boil on the stove. As he waited for the first step in his meal to be complete, he walked towards his fridge and grabbed a few carrots. He placed them on the table and grabbed a knife to cut them up for dinner.

The water was boiled after a few minutes and Sasuke moved to finish up his meal. He fixed his noodles and placed them in a bowl, putting the carrots to the side. He sat down at the table with his meal, preparing himself to eat.

"Itadakimasu," he muttered under his breath, breaking his chopsticks.

_Tap, tap_

He lifted his head from his meal to stare in the direction of his front door. He glanced at the clock to be sure of what time it was. He hadn't been mistaken. It was too late for visitors.

Sighing, he left his meal at the table and walked in the direction of his front door. Confused about who could be visiting at this hour, he pulled open the entrance to his home. On the other side stood his teammate, Haruno Sakura, and some blond kid with a Konoha headband. He'd never seen him before.

"Sakura. What are you doing here?" he asked in his usual monotonous tone.

The girl looked disheartened, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Sasuke, Tsunade-sama has found a replacement for our team."

Although his facial expression never changed, he could understand why Sakura was upset about the matter. He empathized with her. "Who is it?" he asked.

Sakura jabbed a finger towards the blond boy beside her. "This idiot."

"Hey! I have a name!" The boy shouted, irritation flashing in his blue eyes.

Sasuke sighed. He could understand what Sakura meant about the guy being an idiot. "You're right. He is an idiot."

The boy turned his glare towards him. "Who are you to talk, Sasuke? You murdered your own teammate on purpose! You weakened your team. Who's the idiot now?"

Sasuke crossed his arms, leaning in his doorway. "You know me." It was a said as a statement. The guy had obviously done his research.

Sakura butted back into the conversation. "He knows all of us, Kakashi included. I find it suspicious, but Ibiki says that he checks out fine for now. He has a meeting with Ino's father tomorrow, though, just to make sure."

Blond boy appeared to be ticked off for the eighteenth time since Sasuke had come to the door. "Why are you talking about me like I'm not standing right here? It sounds like I'm some robot or something!" he shouted.

Sakura turned to shoot him a look. "Noboru, didn't you say that you were tired? You can go home now," she grumbled. It was clear that she didn't hold him in high stature.

Noboru crossed his arms, puffing out his cheeks. "Yeah, I was. But then you insisted on bringing me here so you could complain to the Uchiha jackass about me," he muttered in reply.

Sasuke had to admit, the boy had guts. Knowing that he was standing right there, he was still adamant about talking about him to his face. He liked the honesty in him. It reminded him of…

"Sasuke, are you listening?" Sakura's voice snapped him from his thoughts.

He blinked away his contemplations. He turned to face her, his expression returning to its unemotional self. "Sakura, it's getting late. I'll see you and Noboru in the morning."

She looked concerned for him for a moment. "Are you okay, Sasuke? You seem far off."

He nodded, backing into the house. "I'm fine. Bye."

As he shut the door behind him, he walked back into his kitchen. He sat back in front of his meal and continued to eat. While he did so, he thought about something that Noboru had just said.

**_"You murdered your own teammate on purpose! You weakened your team! Who's the idiot now?"_**

He clenched his fists, breaking both of his sticks in half. He barely even noticed.

**_"You murdered him on purpose!"_**

His words had been true. Naruto's death hadn't been a complete accident. He'd even told himself, over and over, that he would end the blond's life during the fight. It was only after the matter, as he'd been dying in front of him, that he'd decided not to do it.

**_"I will defeat you… but I refuse to become like you."_**

Unbeknownst to him, he had done just that.

He had become Uchiha Itachi.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

A week after Noboru had joined the team, and they were each having lunch at Ichiraku ramen. Sakura didn't seem to enjoy the blond's company. In the short time that they had been there, she had called him an idiot in over a million different ways.

Sasuke tried his best to steer clear of the tension that was splitting his team apart. He had begun to place himself inside of a bubble, isolating himself from the two. He refused to take part in the childish arguing between the two others.

However, he had started to notice something about Noboru in the past week or so. Despite his smartass responses and second-rate insults, it appeared that he had a soft spot for the pink haired girl. It had begun to show itself more and more as the days ticked by.

For an example, over everyone else that he could have chosen to annoy, he had picked Sakura. No matter how many times he had gotten his head bashed in for it, he always picked with her and only her. Sasuke had even given him chance after chance to argue with him instead, but he only ended up including Sakura in the matter, some way or other.

The boy had a crush on her.

It was another way in many that Noboru had proved to resemble another certain someone who had once been a member of squad seven. The boy was almost an exact carbon copy of the deceased shinobi. If not in appearance, than in attitude. Noboru reminded him of Naruto in so many ways on so many occasions, that it was hard for him to remember that they were in fact two different people.

He eyed the boy sitting in the seat beside him. At the moment, Noboru's eyes were covered by orange goggles, a pair that he normally wore over his headband. He continued to constantly shovel ramen into the black hole that he called a mouth, all while waving his hand for Teuchi to get started on making his next bowl.

The boy was a bottomless pit.

"Noboru, slow down before you choke!" Sakura advised, staring at the blond with a look of disgust. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. Everyone knows you can't choke on ram-"

**_WHAM!_**

"And don't talk with your mouth full, baka!"

Sasuke smiled gently at the interaction. It reminded him of way back when, when Naruto was a part of their team. Things like this had always ensued while he was still living.

Kakashi stood from his stool beside him. He placed some money on the counter to pay for his meal. "I'm going to head out now, guys. Don't miss me too much."

Noboru, being Noboru, was the first to shout out. "Ha, like we'd ever miss you, Kakashi!"

The masked ninja only rolled his single visible eye. He waved a silent goodbye and disappeared in a puff of smoke before another word could be uttered.

Sasuke decided that maybe it was his time to make an exit as well. His stomach was filled and there wasn't any further reason to stay. Of course, it also helped that it would place his two teammates in an awkward situation to be left alone with one another. Although Noboru might enjoy the time alone with his crush, Sakura would definitely not be happy.

He stood up from his stool and placed the cost of his meal on the counter. "I'm leaving, too. It looks like it's going to rain and you two are about to give me a migraine. I'll see you later."

Sakura reached out a hand as if to stop him. "Sasuke, wait! Don't leave me with him!"

He turned in his hasty escape to flash her a devilish smirk. "Finish your meal and leave. No one's making you stay," he replied casually before turning back around and continuing on his way to the Uchiha compound.

* * *

She couldn't believe that he had left her alone with him. Of all people to leave her with, he had chosen to strand her with Noboru. He, of all people, should have noticed how much she detested him!

Noboru slurped up a single noodle. "He's right, you know," he mumbled. "If you don't want to stay with me, you can just go. It's okay. I'll pay for the bowl you didn't finish."

Sakura turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "What?"

"I know that you don't want to eat with me. So, you can go. I don't mind." It sounded as if he wanted to say more, but that was all that left his mouth.

She opened her mouth to apologize, but quickly discarded that idea. Instead, she paid the money for her first bowl, and left the second one on the counter. She then nodded a goodbye to Noboru, and started on her way back to her apartment.

Only five minutes after she had begun walking, the clouds above had become grey and gloomy. With each passing step, they looked heavier and heavier with precipitation. The air cooled gradually, sending an icy chill to her bare arms.

**_BOOM!_**

Dry thunder rang in her ears, signaling the arrival of a storm. Lightening flashed across the darkening sky. Sakura jumped slightly and picked up the pace. Her heart quickened at the thought of being outdoors during a storm.

**_BOOM!_**

"Ah!" She screamed. Her arms flew to cover her head as lightning thundered only a few yards away. It struck the earth with a single crackling sound, causing a nearby tree to burst into flames. The giant plant's trunk cracked into splinters and it fell to the ground with a large thud.

**_TSSSEEEEW!_**

Finally, Sakura just dropped to her knees on the street. The rain pelted her back, soaking her hair and clothes as it crashed down on top of her. It caused a chill to enter her body, one that chilled both her bones and her bloodstream. With each passing second, her body gradually succumbed to numbness, starting with her fingers and toes. It traveled through her body until she couldn't even feel the raindrops pelting her face at fast speeds.

Suddenly, a dark shadow hovered above her head, shielding her from the rain. Teeth chattering, she looked up from where she sat to stare at whoever had come up to her. She was met with a pair of stern blue eyes paired with an even sterner mouth and light blond hair that was matted underneath the rain.

The water caused her eyelashes to stick together, affecting her vision. "N-Naruto…?" she spoke.

Noboru, keeping the same look on his face, picked her up from the ground. He cradled her as if she was a small child, gently and securely holding her. His eyes were hard as he looked down at her, refusing to utter a word. The stern gaze made her look away, cowering beneath it.

He began to walk forward through the storm, rain causing his hair to stick to his face. Sakura didn't exactly appreciate the situation, nor the fact that he was carrying her as if she couldn't take care of herself, but she was grateful. He hadn't _needed_ to follow her, after all.

A few minutes later, Sakura found herself on a doorstep that didn't belong to her. In fact, the neighborhood was completely unfamiliar to her, although she'd lived in the village her entire life.

_'This must be where Noboru lives,'_ she concluded silently. Noboru allowed her to stand on her own while he searched for the keys to the apartment. He unlocked the door and walked inside, leaving it open for her to follow.

Sakura looked around the small apartment, trying not to judge. It looked… cramped. "So this is where you live?" she asked.

Noboru nodded silently. She couldn't remember a time when he was actually _quiet_. "Mhm."

The rosette sighed, crossing her arms. As Noboru went to walk into the kitchen, she followed close behind, just so she wasn't alone in the apartment. "Thanks, Noboru. For coming to my rescue."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan." The blond reached over the sink and grabbed a towel that hung over the faucet. He tossed it to her and surprisingly, it was clean and dry. Comfy.

She began to awkwardly dry her hair with it as Noboru went to find some blankets to keep her warm. She watched him move around the small apartment, opening doors only to find that the rooms were empty. The look of frustration on his face after a few moments almost made her want to laugh.

Finally, the blond grabbed the blankets from off of his bed and walked over to her. Ever chivalrous, he wrapped them around her frame and stepped away to grin at his work. "Better?"

* * *

"Better."

Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head, looking around the dark apartment. He went over and turned on a few lamps to shed a little light on the situation, and quickly sat down on his couch. He patted the seat next to him, urging her to sit down. She did, albeit awkwardly, and offered a bit of the blanket to him.

He refused. "No thanks. You need them more than me."

"But you're wet too. You'll catch a cold!"

Naruto grinned, shrugging. "It's fine, Sakura-chan. Really. You keep them." Unfortunately, Sakura was still as stubborn as she was when they were younger. She opened up the blanket and scooted closer to him, wrapping him up as well. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance although a pinkish hue covered her cheeks.

"Idiot," she grumbled.

Naruto blushed as well, snuggling slightly closer. Who knew when he'd be able to be this close again? Besides, she didn't seem to mind.

They sat in blissful silence for a while, Naruto enjoying the warmth and Sakura seeming to be thinking. The blond fought hard to keep his eyes from closing, the moment slightly too peaceful to stay awake. However, it was a pointless battle and Naruto soon found himself in a light slumber.

"You called, Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya sat in the window of the Hokage's office, seeming to have appeared out of nowhere. He entered the room and shut the window behind him so that the storm wouldn't interrupt their conversation.

Tsunade turned to him, not surprised by his stealthy entrance. "I don't have time for stupid questions, Baka. I've actually got important matters to discuss with you," she replied sternly. The few papers that she had been reading before his arrival were carelessly tossed away, replace with a bottle of sake and two small cups.

"What is it?" he asked, his expression suddenly serious. He sat down in a chair across from her desk.

Tsunade poured them each a cup of sake to begin the conversation. "It's about the Yamamoto boy. The village's newest shinobi," she began.

"What about him?"

"You've been watching him as well, haven't you? Even if it wasn't asked of you, I knew you wouldn't pass up the chance to watch over him. He's too much like _him_ for you not to be interested."

"You mean Naruto."

"Nothing gets past you, Jiraiya…"

* * *

"Noboru? Are you awake?"

Naruto woke up slowly, his eyes fluttering open to reveal his deep blue orbs. He grinned up at Sakura, sleep causing it to appear lazy. "Sakura-chan! What's up?" he asked drowsily.

She huffed, crossing her arms. "You fell asleep on me, baka!" she grunted, narrowing her eyes at him. She looked so cute when she was mad.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I was just really tired," Naruto grinned, sitting up on the couch. Sakura was scrunched up at the end of it, probably because she hadn't had any room. Guiltily, he crawled out of the blankets and stood, rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura sighed, scratching her head. "I should get going. Ino's probably wondering what happened to me. We had plans to do something later and…" her voice trailed off as she stood from the couch and walked towards the door. Naruto took a step towards her, grabbing her hand.

She turned to him, eyebrow raised delicately. "What is it, Noboru?"

He hesitated, mind going blank for a moment. Why had he grabbed her? There had been a reason, he was sure, but… he couldn't exactly remember.

**_BOOM!_**

Thunder shook the house and snapped him from his daze. He shook his head, clearing it of the remaining fog, and returned his gaze to hers. He hoped his eyes looked stern. "It's still storming outside. You can't leave yet."

"Noboru, I have to get-"

"I promise, I'll let you leave when it's over, okay?"

Something about the way that he spoke to her caused her to feel… reassured. She nodded, confidence in his words. "Okay. But I'm gone once the storm is over, got it?"

A smile broke out on his face, his grin stretching from ear to ear. Somehow… it made her feel warm inside.

"Got it, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

**A/N Sorry, for the late update. I'll try to make up for it with a faster one next chapter. Thanks for reading! Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Sakura stood at Noboru's window, staring out at the village as the rain fell down on it. Whenever it rained like this, she liked to believe that the skies were crying angry tears, as she had when Naruto had first died. It made her feel just a little better about his death. Maybe, if the skies were crying, she wouldn't need to cry as much. They took some of her tears away, easing her load.

She watched the tiny raindrops as they hit the glass, enjoying the show until she heard calm footsteps behind her. She turned to face Noboru quickly, a welcoming smile on her face. "Enjoy your shower?"

The blond nodded, a grin of his own appearing. "Yeah." He had changed into a black T-shirt and the same pair of blue pants he'd had on before. Sakura imagined that he must not have had many clothes. She'd have to take him shopping once the rain stopped.

It took her a moment to realize that she was observing him. Even if it was innocent, she truly hated the idea. Her observing him in any way would give him the impression that she actually enjoyed his presence. Which was definitely not the case.

Noboru's smile disappeared from his face. He stared at her, his blue eyes shimmering in the dark room. "Why don't you like me?"

Naruto hadn't just meant the question for himself, as Noboru, but for himself as Naruto as well. He knew that she would be unable to answer the latter version, but he couldn't stop himself from including it.

She turned to look at him, her emerald green eyes filled with sorrow. Her lips pressed tightly together, as if she were afraid to speak. However, it wasn't long before the words fell from her lips, gushing out like a waterfall. "You remind of me of someone I can never see again. And when you act like him… it irritates me. Because you're not him and you can't be him, no matter how much I want you to be."

Understanding struck him. "Naruto," he spoke, nodding softly. The sound of his name on his lips as if he were speaking of someone else was odd. It felt unnatural.

Sakura nodded at him, a sad smile adorning her lips. "Yes, Naruto…"

Naruto wanted to bash his head in with an extremely hard object. He wasn't supposed to be acting like himself! He was supposed to be entirely new, not the annoying halfwit that he was before! If that was the case, he might as well have just told everyone who he was and trashed the stupid disguise idea!

Sakura seemingly hadn't detected his mental turmoil. "I guess that you're not entirely like him. You don't look alike, and the only things you have in common are that you were both insanely annoying and have an odd taste for ramen. I suppose that maybe I'm truly just pissed because… you've begun to replace him and I'm the only one that sees it."

Naruto stopped with his mental bashing to stare at her. "What?"

She wiped at a stray tear that had fallen down her cheek. "I know it's silly, but I had always thought that Tsunade-shishou would keep his spot open, so no one could even begin to replace him. It's been two years and she hasn't even thought of assigning us a replacement member, but you come around…" she allowed her voice to trail off.

**"Looks like they _haven't _replaced you Kit. You've replaced yourself," **Kyuubi spoke in his mind.

'_What are you talking about now, fox?' _ he asked, an annoyed edge to his thoughts.

**"Back at the cemetery, you had feared that your friends had begun to replace you. In actuality, they hadn't even begun to find a replacement for your misfit squad. Now, you've gone and replaced yourself. Ironic." **The fox chuckled evilly in his cage.

"Noboru?"

Sakura's voice brought him out of his trance. He stared at her, a sheepish smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Ha, sorry Sakura-chan. I kind of zoned out there." Once the words had left his mouth, he wanted to hit himself for the second time that evening. That sounded like something he would have said if he were Naruto, not Noboru.

Sakura sighed, although a small smile spread over her lips. "Thanks for listening, Noboru. For the most part." She leaned away from the wall and uncrossed her folded arms as she walked towards the door. "I should head home."

Naruto rushed over to her, gripping her arm gently but firmly. "Wait! Do you… do you want me to walk you home? You shouldn't be out in the rain alone and it's starting to get late."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm just as capable of protecting myself as you are, Noboru. Maybe even more. In fact, I'm pretty sure I outrank you." She grinned smugly.

"But-! But I-!"

"As your superior, I order you to leave me be. I'll be fine by myself," she stated firmly. Her tone left no room for discussion.

Naruto nodded, his eyes showing that he'd given in. "Yes ma'am," he muttered in mock respect.

"Good boy." Without thinking, she had leaned in and had given him a peck on the cheek. By the time that she'd realized what was happening, it had been too late. Time froze.

She cleared her throat and pulled away, her cheeks turning a bright hue of pink. She took two steps back, enough so that her face would be hidden in the dim light of the room.

Naruto stared at her, his voice taken from him as he reached up and gently touched his cheek with the tips of his fingers.

Sakura fidgeted nervously with the ends of her dress. She backed away towards the door, her footsteps seeming to have been well thought-out. She stopped once she reached the door, only stopping so that she could bid him goodbye and slip away like a flower in the wind.

Naruto continued to stand there, his cheeks aflame. A dopey smile had spread over his face as he replayed the scene over and over again. Somehow, in his mind, the kiss had been much more passionate than it had been as he watched it in his head.

**"I refuse to be subject to watching the futile human emotion known as love," **Kyuubi snarled. The picture in Naruto's mind flickered twice, and then died. The blond came back to reality, blushing at the Kyuubi's remark, and went to sit on the couch.

'_You wouldn't understand,' _he sighed, contentedly folding his arms behind his head.

The fox shook his head inside of his cage. **"Of course I wouldn't. Such worthless emotions are unfit for demons such as myself."**

A small smile appeared on the blond's face. '_You've never wanted to fall in love? Never wished you could?'_

**"Look what it's done to you."**

The smile fell from Naruto's face and he grew quiet. The fox took this as an invitation to continue to speak. **"If it hadn't been for your love of the pink headed girl, you would have never went after the Uchiha boy. You would have never fought, he would have never pushed his snotty arm through your chest, and you would have never 'died'. Thus, you would still be living the life that is your own instead of walking the lonely path of this disguise."**

Naruto frowned, his eyes furrowing in silent consideration. '_You really think that if- if I hadn't liked Sakura-chan so much, none of this would have happened?'_

**"I'm over a century older than you, kit. I do not think any longer. The severity of my knowledge allows me to know things that would otherwise be considered as opinions."**

And, with that as his answer, Naruto curled up on his couch and stared at the wall, considering his thoughts.

***

**[Sakura's home]**

The second that Sakura entered her own apartment, she collapsed onto the couch in the living room. Her body refused to move from that spot, her legs protesting achingly. The journey from Noboru's home to her own had been a long one, causing her to feel worn out the second that she walked through the door.

She allowed herself to sink into the soft cushions of the couch as her body relaxed pleasurably. Her limbs, torso, and neck each loosened to the point that Sakura let a soft sigh escape her lips. She let her eyes gently flutter close and her breathing to slow until she was in that odd space between being awake, and being asleep.

At some point, Sakura had heard her mother enter her home with a bag filled with groceries. She often dropped by, at least once a day, to make sure that Sakura had at least a meal a day. Sakura was grateful for this, for she frequently forgot to even feed herself with her hectic work and training schedule. If it wasn't for her mother's visits, she would most likely starve.

The aroma of a home cooked meal soon filled with home, wafting over to the pinkette's nose. She inhaled deeply in her sleep, but otherwise did not move to get up. Her mother would come and get her when the food was done, and there was no point in her getting up just to sniff an uncooked meal.

At one point in time, most likely while something delicious was simmering on the stove, Sakura's mother entered the living room. Her bare feet padded against the floor, nearly silent, until she reached the couch. She bent down to kiss her exhausted daughter's cheek and draped an old blanket around her shoulders. With a short petting to her head, she left and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

After awhile, the elder woman returned to the living room. She gently shook her daughter's shoulder to wake her, informing her that dinner was ready. The young pinkette nodded sleepily, and permitted her eyelids to flutter open and for a giant yawn to escape her lips. She did a quick stretch with her arms, as most do after waking from a nap, and followed her mother into the kitchen.

She took a seat at the table while her mother placed the meal on the table. It smelled deliciously like a warm, salty broth filled with vegetables and meats galore. The scent carried from its heated bowl towards her enhanced nose, filling it with the smell.

Sakura inhaled deeply, a peaceful grin settling onto her face. "Smells great, mom," she complimented, scooting closer to the table. She reached out and poured a bit of the broth into a bowl in front of her, preparing to eat. "Thanks for cooking. Again," she added.

Her mother only smiled gently, as moms often did. "It was no problem at all. We both know you probably would have starved if I hadn't come over and fed you. Poor girl, always forgetting to eat during these hectic days of yours. You remind me so much of your father, I swear," she murmured quietly as she fixed herself a bowl of the broth as well.

***

**[Uchiha Compound]**

Sasuke sat on his rooftop underneath the full moon, his pale face gleaming beneath its light. His face was fixed into an emotionless expression, his mouth pressed into a firm line. His eyes were cold and unseeing as he stared blankly into space, as if thinking about something.

Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared behind him as if from thin air. The figure chuckled darkly and crossed its arms over its chest. "Kukuku… Sasuke-kun, are you still wasting your time in this petty little village?" it asked.

Sasuke didn't seem surprised by the being's appearance. He didn't even twitch as he continued to stare ahead, not even turning to face him. "Your three years are almost up, Orochimaru. Don't you think its time you started finding a new vessel for your soul rather than standing there harassing me," he asked coldly, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Orochimaru chuckled yet again. "Foolish boy… You still resist me, even after all this time. You and I both know it won't be long until you seek me out again. You've already unlocked the second stage of the curse mark, and I can feel you yearning the power that I can give you."

"You don't know what I want."

"Oh, but I do, child," Oro hissed. "Itachi's still living, and I know you wish achingly to end his life with every bone of your body. But you can't do that here, can you?"

"Shut up."

"You wish to unleash the true power of the curse mark, don't you? I can feel it in your heart. You wish for the power it can give you, the power I can give you."

Sasuke only closed his eyes, refusing to answer him. He felt that if he ignored Orochimaru long enough, he would eventually get bored and return to his lowly hole in the ground. But Orochimaru only continued speaking, his words gaining in intensity with each syllable. "You and I are much alike, Sasuke-kun. We don't belong in this village, working among indolent shinobi such as these. You weren't meant to stare here, as much as you wish it were true. You're an avenger, Sasuke-kun. You and I both know it."

Sasuke clenched his eyes tighter and released a ragged breath from his lips. "Get away from here, Orochimaru. And don't come back," he ordered.

"You do yourself no good by staying here, Sasuke. Wouldn't your little friend want you to grow stronger, to succeed in your only ambition?" But before Sasuke could answer, Orochimaru had disappeared once again, his body lowering into the roof. Sasuke knew better than to believe that Oro had simply disappeared into the house, and refused to move from his spot.

Absently, he touched the area on his shoulder where the black mark still lay, the mark that had caused him to kill his best friend and comrade. No matter what Orochimaru said or did… Sasuke wouldn't go with him. He owed it to his friend to stay here and watch over Sakura to the best of his abilities. Naruto would want him to…

_'Wouldn't your little friend want you to grow stronger, to succeed in your only ambition?' _

_

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_

_**Author's Note: Sorry about the extremely late update! I was truly clueless and blank about how to continue this story. Still am, actually. Hopefully, this won't continue to drag on and I'll have a much faster update than this one. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to ask them :)**_

_**REVIEW!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**[A month later: Just before dawn]**

Naruto jolted upright as a sudden flash of pain burst in his stomach. His abdominal muscles cramped and the skin covering said muscles burned and stung as if it were being torn from his body. Rip by rip, the pain came in waves, knocking the wind out of him.

He pulled his pajama shirt from his aching area, determined to find out what was causing him this pain. It was beyond anything that he had even experienced, far greater than any wound he had obtained. As he pulled the cloth away from his abdomen, he saw that the seal on his stomach was glowing a burning white, explaining the heated sensation he felt.

_'Fox!' _ he managed to gasp. _'Wh-at's going on?'_

The fox demon, who had also awoken at the pain caused by its seal, was as baffled as his container was. **"I don't know, Kit. I'm just as clueless as you are."**

Another burst of pain flashed through his stomach and Naruto fell out of bed at the intensity of it. He arms clutched his stomach as he fell to his knees, wincing at the burning. '_What happened to those centuries of knowledge, furball? They would sure as hell come in handy right about now!' _he shouted in his head.

**"I'd watch my tongue, Kit. The seal is weakening and I have half a mind to make my escape and kill you right now," **Kyuubi snarled irritably.

_'What's s-stopping you?' _ Naruto griped as another wave of pain overtook him. He leaned over himself, nearly curling into a ball as he began coughing heavily, his chest racking with the action. Naruto, despite his pain, reached up to cover his chest with one hand and his mouth with the other. The coughing grew heavier and wetter, liquid becoming clear in his chest. He tried achingly to bang the feeling away, knocking his fist against his torso, but only succeeded in causing himself to cough even more.

**"Pneumonia?" **Kyuubi guessed.

Naruto could only shrug his shoulders as the coughing became worse and worse. Soon, he could barely hold himself up as his body shook with each choking gasp. He lay his body down on the hardened floor and allowed it to spasm uncontrollably as he began to converse with his beastly tenant.

_'Maybe I should call Sakura-chan,' _he suggested. _'She's sure to be able to help us. She's a medical ninja now.'_

The fox scoffed, instantly discarding the idea. **"Have you forgotten our situation, Kit? If she comes and figures out what's wrong with you, which I have a feeling will be tied with the seal, she'll no doubt figure out that I'm involved. That will result in her involving the slug princess, and kami knows what will happen after that." **Kyuubi shook his head. **"No, we'll have to handle this one ourselves."**

_'But-!'_

**"I can't do anything for you now, Kit," **Kyuubi continued, interrupting him. **"I'll do my best to locate the source of the seal's problems. Until then, I'll cut off the chakra in that area of your body, stopping the nerves from sending messages to the brain so that I may numb your body for a moment in time. That's the extent of what I can do." **And, just like that, the Kyuubi had dropped the connection with Naruto and had proceeded to begin working. He began with shutting off the chakra in the lower half of his torso, where the pain originated from. At first, Naruto felt a tingling sensation in his abdomen, the same sensation he would normally feel if his foot fell asleep. The tingling last for only a few minutes, less than five, as the feeling slowly dispersed and he lost all feeling in his stomach muscles; his pain forgotten.

_'Thanks fox,'_ He called out graciously in his head. He waited a moment for a snide remark from Kyuubi, but silence only followed. He tried calling out again, but it only resulted in the same silence.

_'Fox?'_

Still, nothing. Figuring that the fox was busy repairing their little problem, Naruto stood shakily to his feet and removed himself from cold, hard floor. His legs, slightly weak from the encounter, shook gently beneath him until he leaned himself against the wall he was closest to.

_'What's going on?' _he asked himself, staring into the darkness that was his room.

* * *

**[Location Unknown]**

A dark and omniscient figure stood in front of multiple other dark shadows, each dressed in black cloaks with red cloud designs. It had been quite a while since this particular group had last met, and for good reason, too. Their objective had been put on hold, momentarily ruined by that of Uchiha Sasuke, one of said member's younger brother. But today, the leader of this particular group of antagonists had gathered each of them together under cover of a rainy and dreary day to discuss how they should continue with their plans.

One of the shorter of the group turned to stare unemotionally at his leader. "What is the point in continuing if the Kyuubi is out of our reach forever? It will only prove to disappoint us once we come to a dead end towards the end of our project," he spoke smoothly, keeping his red eyes locked onto the figure in the center.

The first figure chuckled darkly, an evil sound resonating from the depths of his throat. "Itachi, it seems that we have been misled in our information. I have been studying the Earth ever since the death of the Kyuubi's container, hoping to find even the smallest trace of the demon's power; and it would seem as if I have finally found something, after three long years…"

"Another container?" Came the voice of Itachi's fishy companion.

Another dark chuckle. "Not quite, Kisame. It would appear as if the original container has just been hiding from us…"

* * *

**[Naruto's Apartment]**

Naruto stared down at the dark red liquid that covered his palms in large quantity. It stained his skin, dripping through his fingers and onto his floor as he tried to keep it in his hands. He stared at it, mouth gaping open at the sight of the blood. Blood that had come from his mouth during his latest coughing spree. It was getting worse, he could tell.

_'Fox, I really hope you know what you're doing,' _he thought to himself as he left the room and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He grabbed a metal bucket from underneath the sink, along with a sponge and a bit of bleach. He poured water into the bucket, listening to the pitter patter of its droplets as it hit the metallic surface.

Once the bucket had been filled halfway to the top, he shut the water off and lugged the bucket back to his room. He set it on the floor beside the spilled blood and poured a bit of bleach into the water. As the two substances dissolved into one another and mixed, he stuck the sponge into the concoction and began to scrub the blood away.

A few minutes into his cleaning and Naruto heard a soft tapping on his door. At the sound, he scrubbed a bit harder to remove all evidence of his mishap from the floor, hoping he cleaned well enough that even an Anbu couldn't sense anything. He tossed the sponge into the bucket, resolving to dump the water later, and went to open the door in his pajamas.

On the other side was none other than Haruno Sakura herself. She was fully dressed in her usual training clothing, a weapon pouch at her waist and a pack on her back. Her expression was urgent as her jade eyes met his deep blue ones, her mouth set into a serious line. "Tsunade-sama has a mission for us. She said that it was urgent. You have less than half an hour to get dressed and arrive at the hokage tower for mission briefing."

Naruto nodded, knowing better than to waste time asking questions. "I'll be there," he agreed, turning to walk back into his bleach scented home. On his way inside, right before Sakura had taken her leave, he had heard her mumble something along the lines of "You talk like you had a choice."

He shook his head and shut the door tightly behind him. He went to his room and towards his closet, grabbing a dark blue jacket with the pants to match. The clothes had strips of orange going down the sleeves and pant legs, but he still yearned for his former clothes. One day, he would need to take a day off and find outfits suitable to his tastes.

He got dressed in his clothes, wearing a black undershirt underneath his jacket and left his home just in time to make it to the Hokage tower. He opted not to try his luck with the civilian traffic below, and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, traveling towards the center of the village.

He reached the wall surrounding the hokage tower in record time, jumping from its edge to the soft ground below. He gave himself a millisecond, having not stuck the landing, to regain his balance and continued inside of the building. He raced up the stairs, down the hallway, and into the Hokage's office just as Tsunade said something about blond's always running late.

"I'm here!" he shouted, nearly running into a shinobi that looked oddly akin to his brooding teammate, Sasuke. He had similar pale skin along with dark hair and coal black eyes. This new boy's face was as expressionless as the Uchiha's often was, although this boy's face was less hostile than Sasuke's. It was more natural, more… innocent.

After he regained his balance, he looked around the room in search of the real Uchiha prodigy. His eyes scanned the room, corner to corner, looking for his missing teammate.

"Is Sasuke running late or something?" he asked after not being able to spot the boy. Three sets of eyes looked down at the floor, refusing to look him in the face. The most sorrowful expression of these people belonged to none other than Haruno Sakura. Her jade green eyes were weighed with distress, her mouth pressed into a firm line.

Tsunade looked up from her seat, her eyes nearly the exact opposite of those of her saddened apprentice. Her light brown orbs displayed none of the grief hidden in Sakura's, but instead held a sort of deep malice that Naruto had rarely seen before. Her lips were held tightly together as if she were afraid a few choice words would leave her if they were opened.

"Nice of you to join us, Noboru," she scowled, obviously not in the best of moods.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Tsunade-sama. I was kind of caught off guard when Sakura came by. I wasn't even dressed yet!" he explained. Since he wasn't who he should have been, he wasn't able to call Tsunade the lovable nickname he had given to her. Yamamoto Noboru wasn't allowed to speak to the Hokage in ways that Uzumaki Naruto was.

The Hokage sighed and rubbed her temples. "Now that everyone is here, I believe it's time to begin." She leaned forward in her desk and laced her fingers together on top of it. She rested her chin in the bridge created and waited a brief moment before beginning.

She eyed each of the squad members carefully, especially her apprentice. "It would appear that… Uchiha Sasuke has left the village…" She allowed the news to sink in, continuing after only a moment. "We believe that it occurred around midnight this morning, while most of the village was sleeping. He was discovered missing from his home only four hours ago, and has already been presumed a missing-nin."

Sakura's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Tsunade-shishou-!"

Tsunade turned to look at her, pity in her gaze. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but he's already tried to leave the village once before. He has run out of second chances. There's nothing I can do about it." Her gaze hardened as she further sank into Hokage mode. "Your duty is to recapture Uchiha Sasuke by all means necessary. He is thought to have stopped near Tanzaku Town sometime last night. Go there and find out if anyone has any information on him. Refrain from using any force, despite the reason."

"Hai," the four other shinobi agreed, albeit reluctantly. Tsunade nodded and waved her hand as she dismissed the group and allowed them to get ready to leave. It was a day's distance from the village to Tanzaku Town, and the team would need to leave by eight tonight simply to get there while Sasuke's trail was still warm. If they wanted to find the Uchiha and bring him back to the village, they would need to use every advantage that they had.

As Naruto left the Hokage tower alongside his teammates and the new mysterious boy, he managed to grasp Sakura's attention for the shortest of seconds.

'_Don't worry, Sakura-chan. This time, I'll bring him back on my own. It's the promise of a lifetime!'_

_

* * *

_

**[Deep in the forests on the outskirts of the Land of Fire]**

Sasuke panted as he rested on a sturdy branch strong enough to hold his weight. His stomach growled loudly beneath his shirt. He hadn't eaten in hours, not since he'd left Konoha the night before. He hadn't stopped to eat in Tanzaku Town, opting to stay away from most conversations as to make it easier to cover his tracks. The less he spoke to people on his way to Orochimaru's, the harder it would be for his comrades to find him.

He lifted his head to stare into the sky above him. The sun hung lazily in the middle of the sky, its heated rays beating down on him. The golden color of its light reminded him of the shade of his former teammate's hair, bringing a sort of solemnity to his face. '_I'm doing this for you, Naruto. I need to get stronger, so you wouldn't have died in vain.' _ As another rumble escaped his gut, he reached into his pack and revealed a single apple. It was one out of four that he had packed for this specific reason. He couldn't afford to eat in towns, but he could eat quickly during one of his short breaks. '_I can't stay in the village like it's right. It's like what Orochimaru said… I just don't belong there.'_

_

* * *

_

**[Hours later back at Konoha]**

Naruto dropped down in front of the gates only an hour before it was time to depart. Neither of his teammates had arrived yet, and neither had the Uchiha Look-a-like from before. After the briefing, he had learned that the boy was the replacement member for their team, a substitution for Sasuke. He had also learned that the boy was named Sai, no last name, and appeared to be a giant pain in the butt.

"Jerk," Naruto muttered to himself. Just thinking about it made him angry at his newest teammate. In the short time that they had known each other, Sai had called him an idiot and also claimed that he didn't have a penis. Which then resulted in Naruto trying to prove him wrong and Sakura hitting him over the head, a giant blush on her face. That then caused Sai to call Sakura a temperamental hag and therefore force Naruto to hold her back as she tried to kill him.

It hadn't been a good impression for any of them.

Naruto sat down on a bench beside the gates and waited for his teammates to appear. He leaned back against the back of the wooden object and let out a deep sigh as his eyes gently fluttered closed. Between that morning's seal problem and the Uchiha emergency, plus having to get ready for the mission, he was wiped out. He deserved the rest he was about to take, no matter what anyone else thought.

"Noboru! Get off your ass! It's time to go!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open in surprise at the sound of the pinkheaded girl's voice. Shock took over him as he jumped off of the bench, his eyes widening and his heart pumping. "What? What's happening?" he asked urgently.

Sakura scowled at him. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him indignantly. "We're leaving, baka," she replied, an agitated edge to her tone. "I'm not just going to sit around and wait until the last minute to chase after Sasuke. If we can leave now, we will."

Naruto looked around, seeing no one else near the gates. The only people around were him and Sakura, not counting the few civilians that walked the streets.

"Uh… Sakura-chan? Kakashi and that Sai guy haven't-!"

"They can catch up, Noboru."

"But-!"

"Look, you can come with me or you can stay here. But either way, I'm not just going to stand by while Sasuke gets even farther away from me. I made that mistake once and I swore to myself that I wasn't going to make it again." She pulled her sack tighter onto her back and began to walk towards the outside of the gates. "Are you coming?"

Naruto hesitated. _'Sakura… you can get in a lot of trouble for this. And so can I but-'_ he paused in his thoughts and grabbed his own pack off of the ground. _'I know she'll go either way, with or without me. And I can't just leave her to herself… I've fought Sasuke before and no matter how much I hate to admit it…'_

He followed after the pinkette, hurrying to catch up to her. She had already gotten a yard ahead of him, and it took him a moment to reach her. She wore a determined look on her face but when she saw that he had actually followed her, a small smile came onto her face. And he couldn't help but smile back, even as a horrifying thought passed through his head.

_'…She's no match for him…'_

_

* * *

_

**[Hours later: Sunset]**

"Sakura-chan, maybe we should stop here. It's getting dark and we won't be able to travel once we can't see the path," Naruto called out to Sakura, who had once again gotten ahead of him.

"You can rest if you want to, Noboru, I've said it before. But I'm not stopping until we get Sasuke-kun back," the girl answered coldly. She picked up her pace once again, traveling even farther away from him. He groaned and pushed forward, forcing himself to go faster.

"Sakura, even if we do catch up to him, we'll be too tired to-!"

"Noboru! Shut the hell up!"

Naruto went silent, hesitating. He finally got up enough nerve to ask her something that had been on his mind for the last three hours. "How are Kakashi and Sai supposed to catch up if we never stop? There's no way they'll be able to make it to our location at the speed we're going."

Silence.

"They're not supposed to, are they? We're going to fight Sasuke alone, aren't we?"

Sakura was silent for a long time. It seemed like forever before she finally spoke to him. "I have to find Sasuke before Kakashi and Sai do. I have to somehow convince him to willingly come back to the village and persuade everyone that it was just a mistake." Her voice wobbled as she shook her head and slowed her speed, just enough for Naruto to run beside her. "I read Sai's file while we were supposed to be preparing for the mission. I learned that he isn't exactly the normal shinobi. He's a junior anbu black ops, part of an organization called "Root". He isn't just on this mission as a replacement member for our team. He was especially assigned to this mission, ordered to capture Sasuke as quickly as possible. I know that it sounds almost identical to the mission assigned to the rest of our team but there's one little difference."

Naruto instantly understood. "Sai's supposed to kill him."

Sakura nodded and pressed on further. By the determined look on her face, he could tell that she refused to slow down and allow Sai leeway to tear apart her already broken team. It was hard enough to pick up the pieces without him, the real him, there to help her. She couldn't just let Sai show up and steal yet another of the pieces.

It was beginning to get to a point where Sakura could barely force her muscles to continue working in her favor. Already, her legs were starting to strain and tense beneath her, causing her to trip and stumble every other mile or so. If it wasn't for Noboru watching her movements with the wary eyes of a concerned friend, she would probably have broken her neck by now.

She finally allowed herself to fall to the ground below, hoping to land on her feet and continue her journey via walking. As she limply lifted her left leg to trudge forward, her feet stumbled and her body tilted towards the ground. Air pushed across her face as she fell forward, and she swung her arms in front of her to keep herself from falling. But before she had a chance to get acquainted with the earth and dirt below, Noboru had appeared behind her, grabbing her around the waist and preventing her fall. He lifted her into a standing position, although he didn't let her go, as if he were afraid she'd once again lose her balance.

The expression on his face was far from its normal humorous self as he stared down at her. His eyes were stern as he said, "We're stopping now." His tone left no room for discussion.

Sakura glared at him and wrenched away from his grasp. "Even if I wanted to stop, we can't. We haven't reached Tanzaku Town yet which just gives Sasuke an even better chance of covering his tracks," she protested.

Noboru crossed his arms. "We're stopping now," he repeated.

Something flashed in his bright blue eyes, a spark of color, one that changed their color if only for an instant. She shook her head, telling herself it was just a trick of the light. She took a deep breath and sighed, looking at him reluctantly.

"We're stopping now," she agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**[Location: Unknown]**

Two figures sat inside of a tea shop, both clad in black cloaks and large hats. The shorter of the two figures, who were both male, took along drink from the cup between his fingers. His dark eyelashes shaded his eyes as he stared at his companion, blood colored eyes gleaming. "How do you think they have managed to hide him from us for so long?" he asked, averting his eyes to his cup once again.

The larger figure's mouth pulled upward to reveal glistening sharp, white teeth. "Who knows? I just can't wait to slice my samehada into his flesh. She's been hungry for his chakra sense that first encounter." The larger figure's voice was rough, almost guttural in a way.

The small figure set his cup back onto the wooden table before him. "We mustn't harm him too much, Kisame. After the assumed death of the jinchuuriki, _he _wants to be sure that our plans are no longer in danger of being hindered. We can only attack him to a point where we will be able to properly render him incapacitated." The way that the man spoke, it would appear as if his lips never moved.

Kisame continued to smile, despite the apparent rejection. "Fair enough. I'll just make sure I tone down on slicing his squirmy butt to pieces." He gently touched the bandaged sword on his back, smiling at his comrade. "How many do you think are guarding the brat? If they went to so much trouble as to hide him, I doubt they would just leave him out in the open."

The shorter gently shrugged, a movement almost unnoticeable. "I suppose Hatake Kakashi would be with him. He is his teacher, isn't he?" he asked, twisting the small cup between his nimble fingers.

"I could have sworn he was with the old hermit he was with before. You don't imagine-"

"I never imagine. I don't even have an imagination to do so," the smaller of the two interrupted.

Kisame nodded, still smiling. "Do you suppose, then?" he asked, correcting himself.

The smaller nodded. "Now and then."

"Do you suppose then," Kisame went on, with a laughing twinkle in his dangerous eye, "that they have switched him back to Kakashi thinking that he'd be safe under his disguise, do you?"

"I don't suppose that they'd endanger his training by doing so."

"Do you assume-"

The one with the red eyes got up from the table, causing his partner to cease in the middle of his question. The smaller set his cup down on the wooden surface and unwrapped his fingers from around it. A small crack appeared in its side, almost a bad omen.

"When you assume, Kisame…" he began, "you make an ass out of yourself and me as well."

**XXX**

**[In the forests South of Tanzaku Town]**

For the second time in two days, Naruto had found himself waking up to spasmodic coughing. His chest heaved and fluid gathered in his lungs, only exiting his body through awful coughing that caused his throat to sore.

He stared over at his teammate, who was thankfully still asleep. He didn't want her to notice his obvious illness, nor did he want her to try to heal him. Kyuubi's words had frightened him the morning before, swearing him to silence.

He clamped a hand over his mouth in an attempt to quiet his coughs, although he couldn't do anything about the quivering they caused. His body shook with each racking cough, and he fought to gain control of his movements.

The fluid in his chest moved up into his throat with each aching cough. Each time one exited his throat, fluid choked him and threatened to clog his airways. After five minutes of this, the fluid had built up to a point where it was impossible to breath, smell, or talk. The only thing he could do was choke and sputter, banging on his chest in an attempt to free himself of his burden.

He forced chakra into his fist, hitting it against his chest, harder than he had ever done before. He sputtered once again, bending over at the pain he'd caused himself. The ball of fluid in his chest splurted from his throat and poured from his mouth in a river.

Red liquid coated the Earth before him, a sticky and gooey substance below. Blood stained his lips and covered his jaw, as if he had merely thrown up. He stared down in horror at the disgusting liquid, a shudder running down his spine.

Although his throat was now clear of the choking blood, it ached almost unbearably. The coughing had worn down his esophagus, scarring it until it could properly heal itself. Even the slightest swallow or intake of breath caused Naruto feel an almost agonizing pain.

_'What's wrong with me?' _He asked himself, eyes widening in fear. His heavily beating heart thumped in his chest, so heavy that he feared it would awaken the sleeping Haruno.

_'Whatever it is, I just hope Fox gets to it fast before it can do any damage…'_

**XXX**

**[10 Miles from their location]**

Kakashi angrily dipped and weaved between the trees, his feet barely touching a branch before he leaped into the air once again. A few feet behind him, Sai struggled to keep up with his quick movements. It was obvious that the teen wasn't used to exerting himself to such lengths.

"Kakashi-san, maybe we should slow down," the boy suggested, panting as he pushed himself forward once again.

"Slowing down and taking our time is what got us so far behind Sakura and Noboru already. We don't have any time to lose," Kakashi replied curtly, continuing at the same speed. He was determined to catch up to their two other teammates before Sakura did something she would regret. Other than leaving the village without her team and going ahead of them without any other backup save for a comedic genin.

What exactly was she thinking? Did she actually think she would be able to pull this off, bringing Sasuke back before anyone else had a chance to get their hands on him? And then what? Did she actually have a plan, or was she simply going with the flow?

And why exactly did she bring Noboru along with her? Obviously, she hadn't done it for the company. The pinkette could barely stand to be in the same room with him, let alone staying with him during an entire journey. So, that left one question. What exactly was she trying to accomplish with him?

Perhaps he was a sacrifice. Sasuke obviously wouldn't return without a fight. Noboru, with his excess amounts of energy, would probably be the one to weaken or slow him down until the Uchiha inevitably killed him. Then Sakura would be able to deliver the final hits and bring him back to the village, most likely not thinking of the consequences awaiting them.

Whatever it was, Kakashi had to make sure that Sakura wouldn't go through with it. She could end up regretting her decisions for the rest of her life. And, knowing what that felt like, he couldn't let her do that to herself.

He had to stop her.

**XXX**

**[South Of Tanzaku Town]**

Sakura awoke to the bright sun shining directly overhead and into her eyes. The air around her was warm, and the sky was a bright blue color. It was clearly late in the afternoon. She hadn't planned to sleep this late.

She sat up from her sleeping back and looked around for her one and only companion. "Noboru?" She called. There was a slight scent of blood in the air, along with meat and the smell of smoke.

She stood from the dirty ground below and searched the small clearing where she and Noboru had decided to set up camp. Towards the far left, she spotted her blond teammate sitting beside a fire, seeming to be roasting a bird of some kind.

He turned to look at her as she stood, a bright smile on his face. "Morning, Sakura-chan!" he called, waving.

She winced at the affectionate nickname, as she often did when he said it. "Why didn't you wake me earlier, baka?" she asked, making her way over to him. She sat at the fire beside him and watched as the flames danced in the air.

"You were wiped out from traveling last night. I didn't want to wake you. You needed your sleep." He poked at the fire, watching the embers as she did. "Besides, we're close enough to Tanzaku Town that we didn't need to wake up too early."

"It's still a mission, Baka. I would rather be early than wasting time sleeping," She muttered.

Noboru nodded. "I made breakfast," he said, changing the subject.

"I noticed." She grabbed the cooked bird from the stick Naruto had pinned it to and took a bit of meat from its body, sticking it into her mouth. The piece of tender and succulent, filled with flavor despite them having absolutely no spices to cook with. The roasted bird was delicious, as much as she hated to admit it.

Noboru stared at her as she feasted on it. "Don't you want to know how I caught it?" he asked, his lips pouting slightly.

"Not really."

Noboru stood from his place, grabbing a cloth that was drenched in water. He raised it over the fire and rung it out, causing the droplets to put out the flames. "We should be going. Kakashi and Sai might catch up soon, and I know you don't want that to happen."

**XXX**

**[Location: Unknown]**

The two figures once again stopped in their journey of searching for their jinchuuriki prey. The smaller of the two had been the one to halt at first, causing his comrade to cease in walking as well. For a moment, the two had simply stood there, silence surrounding them.

Finally, the larger figure lifted his hat from his eyes and stared at his partner. "Itachi, what is it?" he asked.

"The kyuubi recently had another attack. I can sense it," Itachi muttered, red eyes swirling. "He isn't very far from our position, either. It shouldn't be long before we catch up to him and his teammates."

Kisame nodded. "Should we be prepared for anything?"

"Of course. Either way, we'll be facing Jiraiya, the toad sannin, or Kakashi, the copycat ninja. It wouldn't be wise for us to be convinced of our success…"

**XXX**

**[Outside of Tanzaku Town]**

Naruto watched as his pink haired teammate dropped to the emerald colored grass beneath them, freeing herself from the trees they'd been traveling in. Her feet made a quiet brush as they connected with the blades.

He quickly dropped down beside her, afraid of being left alone. How long would it take for her to realize that she didn't want to be bothered with him? Clearly, if she caught the slightest hint that he was slowing her down, she'd dump him in a heartbeat. She had already let that known five times in their short amount of time together.

He took a deep breath and stared over at his teammate. "This is it. Soon, we'll know who Sasuke talked to and trace him from there."

Sakura shook his head. "It won't be that easy. I'm sure of it." However, that didn't stop her from trudging ahead and into the Town, immediately disappearing into the crowds.

Naruto gasped and ran after her. He was afraid of leaving her by herself, frightened that she would only get herself into more trouble than she already had. If she got too emotional during this part in the mission, it could jeopardize the everything, including finding Sasuke.

"Sakura!" he called, pushing past a few civilians and causing curses to fill the air. People shoved, punched, and tripped him up as he bumped into them and searched through the crowds.

A hand shot out and grabbed him, causing another gasp to escape his lips. He quickly tried to shout, hoping to gain someone's attention, but a hand clasped itself over his mouth.

"Noboru, will you shut up? Too much noise could drag attention to ourselves," Sakura's voice hissed at him. Naruto calmed himself enough to stare into her emerald eyes, knowing them anywhere.

He nodded calmly and removed her nimble fingers from his lips. "So, where do we start? Are we just going to randomly start asking people questions or…" he let his words trail off, unsure of what another option could be.

The pinkette shook her head. "Not exactly. I was hoping to look for anyone that Sasuke would talk to. Starting at the shops would be a good start. Especially weapon shops."

Naruto nodded again. "We should split up. I'm sure we'll be able to cover more ground that way."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "That sounds about right. We'll meet back here in three hours to discuss what we've found out." With that, she gave a small goodbye and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I've gotta figure out how to do that…" Naruto muttered to himself, reluctantly walking towards his first stop.

**XXX**

**[Location: Unknown]**

Uchiha Sasuke stared ahead at the entrance to Orochimaru's lair, his heart beating heavily in his chest. He tried to convince himself that his decision wasn't a big deal, but his nerves didn't seem to believe him. Every second of every day, his thoughts haunted him and caused his pulse to quicken to unremarkable speeds.

Yet, he couldn't stop now. He had sacrificed everything to come here and finally become stronger. He'd lost his friends, his home, even his family in a way. The need for power had even cost him his one and only best friend. But it was worth it. Everything was worth it for these eyes… this power.

He took a deep breath and walked closer to the lair that held the most sinister of all antagonists. Orochimaru would be waiting for him, he was sure. There was no doubt in his mind that the snake sannin didn't know that he was on his way.

_'Naruto… can you feel it?' _Sasuke mentally asked, touching a gentle finger to his eyes. _'Can you feel the excitement resonating from this place? Into my heart?'_

The Uchiha had begun to think of his new eyes, his Mangekyou eyes, as his best friend. It was much the same as how Kakashi thought of his eyes as Obito. Only… Sasuke went farther.

He believed that Naruto truly lived on in his eyes, as if the boy's soul was inside of him. He felt that, with his new eyes, Naruto could see what he saw. He could do as he did and speak as he spoke. Naruto could live on, in his eyes, with this new power…

'_Naruto… are you as worried as I am?' _ Sasuke asked his eyes, continuing to stare at the lair in front of him. _'Are you as… afraid?'_

A low hissing sound appeared behind him. He spun around so quickly that his bangs hit his face and stung his cheeks. Before him stood a dark figure with snake-like eyes and moonlight pale skin.

The figure walked out of the shadows where it hid. "Sasuke-kun… What a pleasure. You've finally come to join me… And just in time," it hissed, walking closer.

Sasuke immediately went into the defensive. He didn't trust Orochimaru, despite his decision to seek him out. "I want the power you promised me," he forced through his teeth. He displayed the blood red eyes of his Mangekyou Sharingan, hoping to intimidate the snake-sannin.

Oro's eyes flashed. "Tsk Tsk, Sasuke-Kun. Stop playing with weapons if you don't know how to use them!" he snapped, appearing behind the Uchiha in a flash. He wrapped his slender fingers around his neck and squeezed, digging his nails into his throat. Blood dripped from the small punctures, the red liquid contrasting greatly against his pale skin.

Sasuke grit his teeth in anguish, wondering how he'd let himself go off guard. '_Damnit!'_

**XXX**

**[Tanzaku Town]**

"He's here…" Itachi spoke, just above a whisper. He very rarely raised his voice above such a tone.

Kisame looked around where they stood, a confused expression showing in his eyes. He turned towards his shorter companion, as if searching for answers. "Where?" he asked, looking around once more.

"Not here," Itachi replied, contradicting his earlier words. "Not here specifically. He's here generally." Once again, Kisame stared at him, not understanding his words. Itachi shook his head, an emotionless expression on his face. "He's in town. He's not exactly near us, but he's here."

**XXX**

**[Hours later]**

Naruto sat in his hotel room, allowing his henge to fade away for the briefest of moments. The shades were down and the room door was locked, preventing anyone from seeing his true identity. Most of the lights were off in the room, save for a dim lamp shining on his nightstand.

He knew that it wasn't safe to release his henge, even under these conditions. Simply because no one could enter didn't necessarily mean he was protected from searching eyes. However, the henge was beginning to wear him out and every now and then, he enjoyed watching his own face, seeing his own hands and body.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He tried his real name on his tongue, satisfied at the sound of it. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." He repeated the name time after time, flicking the syllables off of his tongue, enjoying the sound. It had been a while since he'd been able to feel so free. The feeling was… better than he thought it would be.

He wasn't worried in the least of someone finding him in his vulnerable state. Sakura had went out to find them both something to eat, and he suspected that she would be gone for a while. He assumed that she had only agreed to go without him was because she'd grown sick of him trailing behind her. He figured that she would need some time to be alone, to actually think.

He wasn't exactly complaining. He felt that he needed time to think as well. But not only did he need time to think, he needed time to _be. _To simply exist as himself and stop pretending for a moment. Just for an instant, he could truly be.

He released a deep breath that he hadn't realized that he was holding. As he exhaled, he realized that with it, his body relaxed. It was as if he wasn't only releasing a breath, but he was releasing his tension as well. All of the built up tension in his body that he was forced to deal with every day, with only a sinister fox as a companion. It was enough to drive him mentally insane…

But… somehow… it hadn't…

It just hadn't…

* * *

**A/N Thanks to all of my reviewers from the last chapter: Bloddy Rapter, Hitokiri Shinzui! Most people would do this at the beginning of the chapter, but I'm not most people. **

**If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns, please Review. Every review counts!**

**Thank you to all my loyal readers!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Naruto lay in bed, simply allowing himself to think and be heard in his own mind. It was silent inside of the small hotel room, which gave him enough peace and quiet to allow his mind to wander. He had changed himself back into his old identity, Noboru Yamamoto, a little over five minutes ago. But he noticed that the henge was becoming harder and harder to keep up, as if he was throwing a heavy blanket over himself. It felt like the henge was getting heavier almost, like weights, causing him to fall to his knees below it. In fact, when he had put the henge on himself a moment ago, he had felt such a strong amount of pressure that he _had _fallen to his knees. Or, at least, fallen onto the bed that he was currently resting on. He only hoped that the feeling would go away soon, allowing him the opportunity to stand.

'_Fox?' _he called out mentally. He had tried on numerous occasions to get into contact with his inner bijuu, which was beginning to feel pointless. Kyuubi seemed determined to ignore his calls, opting to stay in the back of his mind until further notice. In fact, Naruto hadn't heard from his demonic companion since that morning inside of his apartment, when he had first experienced the agonizing coughs.

_'Fox?'_ he called again, allowing himself to be almost hopeful.

**"What?"**Came the powerful grunt of the ageless biju. **"What the hell do you want, Kit?"**

At his rude words, Naruto's anger pricked. _'You disappear for a few days and that's all you have to say to me? What? Where the hell have you been, you oversized furball? You just disappeared off of my radar!_' he mentally shouted. '_What if I had needed help with something, or met up with Sasuke again?'_

**"Did you miss me?" **The fox teased.

'_Where have you been?' _he repeated. He turned over in bed, laying on his back as to face the white ceiling above. Absently, he counted the many swirls and dots in the paint as he awaited the Fox's answer.

There was a monstrous sigh from the age old demon. **"Where else could I have been, Kit?"**

Unwilling, Naruto felt his eyes fluttering closed. His body sunk deeply into the sheets and blankets below him, his body easing into what he thought was sleep**. **His breathing slowed significantly, and his heartbeat turned into nothing but a gentle thudding. With this new found peace, he opened his eyes again to find himself in a familiar dungeon.

Water pooled around his ankles, looking like melted wax beneath a lit candle. A putrid odor emanated from the liquid, causing him to scrunch up his nose in disgust. The smell was sickening, one of the many downsides of coming to the Kyuubi's inner cage. The dim light of the fox's home was just enough to allow his see his surroundings, but not much more than that. A the far back of the dim area sat the Kyuubi's humongous jail cell, a white seal serving as the lock that kept him there. Naruto looked down at himself, allowing a small smile to come onto his otherwise solemn expression. He was always in his true form when he came to visit the Great Fox himself.

Two giant eyes slowly opened from the cage's depths. **"Lets have a little discussion, shall we?"****  
**

**

* * *

**

**[Konoha]**

Hinata ducked inside of the Hokage's office, entering through a single open window. The pitch black office was empty, save for a young black bird that had made itself in as well. The lights inside of the room were off, casting the room into shadows. Hinata thanked her lucky stars that Tsunade had not passed out inside of her office again, or that Shizune was working late. She surely had no idea what would have happened to her, or her reputation, if she were to be caught sneaking into the Hokage's office. Her father had only recently begun to show any sort of kindness to her. She honestly did not want to give him a reason to go back to how it had been before.

Still, she couldn't resist...

She walked over to the Hokage's personal desk, where most papers and files were kept. Not to mention lottery tickets and the occasional sake bottle. Although, she honestly had no need for the latter. All she wished to find were files. Files that dated as far back as, perhaps, two and a half years ago. Maybe even farther.

She thumbed through a couple of sheets of papers that had carelessly been left on the top of the desk. It was nothing but mission briefings, unimportant documentation, and that day's paper. She honestly had no use for any of it. Although, she did allow herself the satisfaction of shifting through what she had categorized as "unimportant documentation". As the saying goes, Curiosity killed the cat, but Satisfaction brought it back. She could only hope that her recent bout of curiosity would not surely murder her in the end. All it took was a single turn of the door knob...

Hinata shook her head and cast away her short bout of cowardice. Her current mission called for nothing but bravery, confidence, and Will. Anything else would surely ruin her. She searched through the several drawers inside of the massive desk, pulling them out one by one. She dumped their contents onto the desk before her, ever careful not to misplace a single item. But, soon, she found that the drawers were empty of what she truly wanted from their contents.

She groaned mentally at her discovery. She had found nothing of use to her. No pictures, no folders, not even a dental record of some sort. She had not even found a single ninja ID. Wherever those items might be, Tsunade sure as hell did a great job at hiding the-

Something snapped inside of Hinata's head. _'Hiding them!'_

Of course! Why on Earth would Tsunade keep the documentation of her shinobi where an enemy would expect to find them? A desk drawer would only be the very first place that one would look! Surely, the Lady Hokage had been smart enough to hide the papers where no one would even think to find them. One might say, she would hide the papers in the _very last place that anyone would look!_

_"_Byakugan!"

But, no. That was not where the discovery ended. That would, again, be too easy for an enemy to figure out. No, Tsunade was entirely too smart for that. She would not risk hiding the documents in the last place anyone would look, simply because the riddle was too easy to solve. Knowing Tsunade's twisted way of thinking, she would have hidden the documents in the _second last _place that anyone would look. It was an ingenious way of thinking, that Hinata had to give her some credit.

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

Naruto stared around at the giant room, not understanding what was going on. When he had asked the Fox what he had meant about the fact that they needed to talk, the giant biju had simply chuckled and receded deep into the depths of its cage. Or, it appeared as if he had receded from the cage since neither of his eyes were showing any longer.

He groaned and plopped down onto the soaked floor of his tenant's cage. The water seeped through the bottom of his pants, causing his boxers and butt to become wet through them. He shivered at the sensation, wishing he would have thought the action through prior to completing it. Maybe then, he would not be so uncomfortable in his own mind.

Suddenly, the dim light of the room went out, as if candles had suddenly been blown out by cool air. There was a gentle whisper shortly after the lights blew out, and then it was silent. Naruto tried to look around and spot what might have changed the atmosphere, only to realize that he was now blind. The darkness of the room was so great that he could not even see his own hand in front of his face.

'_Fox?' _he called out, his heart thumping heavily in his chest. His breathing quickened significantly. He began to feel lightheaded, gulping in larger intakes of breath to make up for what he believed he had lost. Still siting int he murky water of the Kyubi's cage, he leaned forward and placed his hands parallel to his head in an effort to regain his breath.

_**"Is the wittle bwaby afwaid owf da dawk?" **_came a dark and evil voice. It came from the direction of the Kyubi's cell, although it seemed closer. This voice also did not belong to the all powerful Kyubi no Yoko. The voice was lacking in something that the Great Kyubi had no issue in containing. He just could not pinpoint what that truly was...

Out of the darkness stepped a shadowed figure that took Naruto a moment to truly recognize. Of course, this was not the Kyubi that Naruto had slightly expected. This being was, more or less, human. There was not even the slightest thing that would bring about the idea that this being was simplu a figment of his imagination.

_**"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" **_the figure called out again. It stepped full out of the shadows, a single light emanating his very familiar features. His hair was nearly the exact same golden hue that the sun shines on those once-in-a-blue-moon good days. His eyes were the most amazing shade of deep blue, that Naruto felt that the ocean itself must have been reflected in his gaze. And those whisker marks...

His breath caught in his throat.

The figure chuckled. _**"Amazing, isn't it? Like looking in a mirror..."**_

_**

* * *

**_**[Konoha]**

Hinata used her newly strengthened eyes to search around the room, now seeing it in a new light. Now, she would not have to waste her time searching through desks and drawers and bookshelves in an effort to find the blasted documents. Instead, she could save herself the trouble of doing such labor and simply take a short cut.

All around the room, she noticed separate sheets of paper. Blank paper, filled paper, and simply doodled-on paper. However, there was not a single scrap of paper that she could find with Naruto's damned records on them! But, she refused to let herself get discouraged with her fruitless search. She simply had to solve the unwritten riddle that Tsunade had indirectly given her, and all of her problems will be solved along with it. She simply had to find the forsaken sheets of paper! For cripe's sake, she swore she would have even settled for an old baby photo if it were necessary.

But, just as she was about to give up and categorize her search as a waste of time, her eyes caught sight of something by the bookcase. One of the books were different from the others, the pages less dense in the middle. Although, the edges were filled with paper...

Hollow!

Hinata jumped up and ran to the bookcase, grinning from ear to ear. She pulled the said book out of the case, opening it up. Inside of its hollowed shell, she found a silver key, about the size of her index finger. Now, her mind was clicking things together. A key meant a door, and a door meant another room in the office!

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

His clone stepped closer to him. He continued chuckling, his voice dark and evil. _**"Except, of course, it wouldn't feel that way anymore, would it? You changed something about your appearance. Get a haircut?"**_

Naruto was silent. He didn't dare laugh at his clone. He forced himself into a standing position to get a better look at his mirrored reflection. His clone smirked at him, sharp fangs jutting from his lips.

_**"Very quiet. I hope you haven't gone into shock, friend. There is so much I want to talk to you about," **_The clone drawled. He took a step closer to him, now only standing a foot or two away.

Naruto shook his head free of his daze. How had a clone gotten into his head? _'What are you?'_ he asked. He hoped that this new look-a-like was simply a figment of his imagination. Any moment now and he would open his eyes to see Sakura-chan shaking him frantically in order to wake him.

The doppelganger smiled cruelly. _**"You don't recognize me?" **_he asked, feigning hurt.

Naruto didn't back down. He wouldn't allow the evil aura surrounding the clone to intimidate him. _'Are you a clone?' _he asked, swallowing hard.

The clone chuckled, a deep dark sound. _**"Silly fox. I'm **_******you..."**

******

* * *

**

******[Konoha]**

Hinata sat on the floor of a cramped room, the walls lined with bookshelf upon bookshelf. Inside of those shelves were scrolls and papers and books, as many as the heart could want. Absently, Hinata wondered if Sakura had ever been there. Surely, she would enjoy this more than anyone. She imagined the pink haired girl could sit in this room for hours and hours, simply exploring the books.

In Hinata's lap were two manila files, both filled up with important papers and documents. They were both opened up to reveal two ninja I.D papers, both belonging to the same team, though neither at the same time. One of the shinobi in the photos was deceased, his name printed on the memorial stone of ninjas who died in battle. Just the thought was enough to make her heart grow heavy with sorrow.

_But-!_

She stared closely at the two photos, her gaze darting to the eyes of both boys. Or, more exactly, the eyes of the newest member to Squad seven. She had spent so many years watching the deceased boy that she honestly didn't even need to look at it. But, it still helped. Just a little.

What brought upon this sudden search and the breaking in of the Hokage Tower was, in fact, these eyes. They had been bothering her for weeks, since she had first met the new boy, and she had never been able to peg why. She only knew that it felt familiar, oh so familiar, to look into the deep cerulean eyes of this new boy.

But, only last week had she discovered what was familiar about these eyes. She had been sitting in her room, simply staring at an old photo she had taken of her old crush. Her eyes had only darted to his eyes for a quick instant, wanting to remember looking into his deep blue orbs once again. But then, like a static shock, she had understood. She had understood what was bothering her about the new boy's eyes_. _She knew why they had been so familiar.

_They were almost exactly like Naruto's!_

The eyes, eyes that she felt could never be duplicated, were exactly alike. This brought along the thought that if their eyes were so much alike, what else was so much alike between them? She had begun to secretly follow Noboru around the village, watching him and comparing him to the faded memories of her lost love. Doing so, she had discovered that the boys were so much alike in so many ways.

She had found out so many things about Noboru while watching him the past few days. For one, he loved ramen almost as much as Naruto did, if not more. She would just sit and watch him devour bowl after bowl of noodles, constantly asking the stand owner for more. She also noticed how rigorously he trained, so adamant to become better than he was; just like Naruto.

Now sure of her discovery, Hinata gathered the files in her arms and left the room, locking the door behind her. She made sure to place everything in the office back the way it was before she had entered the room. Each paper was carefully place back inside of the desk and each book was placed carefully on its designated shelf.

Gripping the files to her chest, Hinata walked over to the window and crawled back out into the cold chill of the night. She didn't bother heading home for anything, her weapons pouch already having been grabbed before she had left, just in case. Instead, she walked off in the direction of the gates, appointing a new mission for herself.

She knew the Hokage wouldn't listen to her about this. Tsunade would only doubt her information, too stubborn to believe it. Hinata would have to take this to someone a little more optimistic about life and death.

In other words, she had to see the Kazekage. Immediately.

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

'_you're... me?' _Naruto asked, growing more and more confused as the seconds ticked by. Kyubi's cage was always a confusing place...

The clone, or himself, shrugged carelessly. **_"Look whose a big boy? See, you're not a total idiot. Just half of one," _**he snickered. _**"I'm the... dark you, I guess. I'm also the smarter you, the stronger you, and the better you. Honestly, you should want to be me. Or, at least, embrace me. The better you."**_

Naruto's head hurt more than he had ever experience before. This was... frustrating. Himself was confusing him. Or, He was confusing himself? His bad side was confusing him? He shook his head, hoping to clear his thoughts.

_**"Come on, friend. It can't be that hard to understand, can it?"**_

Naruto shook his head. _'Fox, stop trying to mess with my head! Knock it off!' _He shouted, looking around. He hoped that suddenly, this new him would disappear and be replaced by the monstrous Kyubi.

But one could only hope.

_**"Don't bother, friend. It's just you and me, now. Finally." **_The dark him chuckled again, his eyes shining with evil. Naruto could almost taste the metallic flavor of it... _**"I asked Kyubi for a little time to discuss with you. Or... myself. He agreed. That's another thing thats different about you and me.**_

_**"Kyubi likes me more."**_

_'What do you want?' _Naruto asked quietly.

Evil Naruto, as he should be called, walked closer to him, their chests pressed together. The real Naruto felt a burning sensation erupt there, as if his heart were trying to sere its way out of his chest. He tried to push Evil Naruto away from him, but it was to no avail. The look-a-like had been right about him. He _was _stronger...

_**"What do I want, Naruto? I want out. I've spent fifteen years trapped in this hellhole, my only company a century year old furball!" **_Evil Naruto shouted, pressing their bodies even closer. Naruto gasped at the burn, now also coming from his stomach. _**"I'm sick of watching you waste our life doing nothing, friend. All these years, the villager's looking at us with disdain! They should be bowing down to us!" **_He grabbed Naruto's wrists, holding them above both of their identical heads. _**"And that girl. Sakura-chan, as you so adorably call her. She should be ours, taken by force if not willingly. What the HELL are you doing, allowing her to touch us with any other emotion than LOVE!" **_he shouted, pushing Naruto to the ground. He gripped his neck, allowing his nails to dig into his skin. _**"I'm through with playing second fiddle to an IDIOT! I refuse to be pushed down any longer, so a goody-two-shoes like you can run around freely. It's my turn, friend, and I'm going to use it wisely." **_His grip on Naruto's throat tightened, burning his flesh again. He tried to squirm from beneath the Evil boy's grip, but it was so hard.

_**"Hm hm," **_Evil Naruto chuckled. _**"...I can't wait to destroy Konoha..." **_

_**

* * *

**_**A/N**

**Well, here's my little upate for you. Sorry its ever so late. I just... ah, hard to explain. Just know that I'm very sorry for the wait and hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, if you have any questions about the chapter or anything, just review and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. **

**Or, maybe, just reviewing would be nice. Whatever works xD Okay then, Buh Bye!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Naruto was hopeless. This darker side of him, his so-called "better half", was incredibly strong. In seconds, he had managed to get him onto the ground without the least bit of effort. And this burning, this awful burning. It was worse than anything that he had every experienced in his life. It felt as if his skin was being lit on fire, and all he could do was gasp in pain until it was all over. It was an awful feeling.

"I won't let you," he gasped out to his darker self. His fingers tore at the hands clasped around his burning throat, breaking the flesh. He wanted to hurt this evil figment of his imagination, kill him, before he let him hurt anyone in his village. They may have forsaken him, but he wouldn't allow this asshole to lay a finger on any of them!

Kurai, or "the dark one" as Naruto decided to call him, growled as Naruto's nails dug into his skin. He tightened his grip on his throat, his own claws burying themselves into Naruto's neck. Blood pooled from the puncture wounds, dribbling down his paling skin to bleed into the reeking water beneath the both of them.

"And how exactly do you plan on stopping me?" he asked, his dark purple eyes narrowing.

Naruto grit his teeth to the point of pain. They were pressed so tightly against one another than his jaw was physically shaking. He glared back at his more evil side, his eyes flashing with uncontrollable anger and rage. A feral growl escaped his lips. "I'll kill you if I have to," he replied, his words barely audible.

Kurai almost laughed. "Naruto." It was the first time in the entire confrontation that he'd actually used his name. "I'd kill you a million times over before you even have the chance to lay a _scratch on my forehead._"

His taunting words rang deeply within Naruto's mind. Immediately, he was overtaken by an instant flashback, one he often had comfortless nightmares about on a nightly basis. The words of his rival rang in his ears, and he tried desperately to shield his thoughts from it. But it was no use. The flashback came on full force, appearing in the forefront of his mind.

_'...No matter. You'll never be able to even lay a scratch on my forehead...'_

His teeth grit harder inside of his mouth, if that was even possible.

* * *

Sakura arrived back to the room, her thin arms filled with bags of food she had brought for her and Noboru to share amongst themselves. After running for so long in an effort to get ahead of the others, she figured that she ought to reward the boy with an abundance of food. If nothing else, he deserved something to eat.

She set the bags onto the small shelf inside the room, sliding her shoes off of her feet as well. She combed her fingers through her hair and walked further into the room, searching for Noboru. She wouldn't be surprised if she found him asleep already. The trip had been long and hard, and she knew he must have been exhausted. After all, he was only a genin.

"Noboru?" she called out, spotting him asleep on the single bed in the room. She sighed, smiling gently, and walked closer to his side. His eyes were shut peacefully and drool dribbled down the side of his mouth. A gentle snore escaped him every once in awhile, along with a simple muttering of sorts. His fingers twitched in his sleep, along with his toes.

Sakura shook him, anxious for companionship. "Noboru? Wakey wakey," she urged, laughing at her own words. But Noboru refused to stir, his brows only furrowing over his eyes. Figuring that the boy was only a heavy sleeper, she shook him harder, and spoke to him even louder. "Noboru! Wake up! I brought food. You need to eat," she called to him, her mouth only inches away from his ear.

Still, nothing.

Sakura's own brows pulled over her eyes, now curious as to why Noboru was sleeping so heavily. Surely, he hadn't fallen into comatose in the short time that she had been out finding food. She hadn't been pushing him _that _hard, had she? Still, the thought worried her, and she gently placed a tender hand over his forehead.

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

Sasuke sat overlooking the whole of the world below him, his eyes dark and emotionless. His lips were set into a firm line, as they had been for quite some time now. He couldn't even remember the last time he smiled, even before he'd decided to seek out the snake-Sannin, Orochimaru. The guilt of his best friend's death, his brother's death, was achingly painful. On most days, he even went so far as to physically injure himself in training as to get his mind off of it. Anything to get Naruto's last moments alive out of his mind, to get his face out of his mind.

Worst of all had been looking into Sakura's pained expression every day after the funeral. He'd been on probation during the time, and was barred from any and all missions, though he was still admitted to meet with his teammates whenever he pleased. Though, as the days dragged on, he started to believe that that was more of a punishment than the least bit of mercy. Because every day, whenever he walked up to the bridge where they met almost every day, there Sakura would be sitting. Alone. She never realized it when he walked up to her, as she used to do before the death of the blond. She never even noticed his presence until he spoke up, a timid "hello" escaping his lips. And then she would smile at him. Though, Sasuke could tell that it was forced. She would make gentle small talk with him, though she never asked him on a date again. At first, Sasuke counted this as a blessing, but soon found that he missed the girl's admiration. It was better than watching her stare blankly at him, smiling for show while the grins never reached her eyes. And, after Kakashi inevitably showed up late, no one even chastised him about his tardiness. Especially after the fact that he'd stated coming even later than he used to. But no one seemed to care. Because Naruto was dead, Sakura was too empty to even recognize the fact that he was late, and Sasuke had never really cared in the first place. So silence would always ensue. And Team seven was dead.

Sasuke shook the thoughts from his head. That was in the past. He had no use for the memories now. What good would they bring him? Nothing; Nothing but the solemn feeling of everlasting guilt and aches. And feelings such as those were useless. His hand reached up to touch his eye. But still...

_'Naruto...'_

_

* * *

_

**[Tanzaku Town]**

'_Noboru...'_

Sakura's brow furrowed as she bit her lip, staring down at the sleeping boy before her. He still hadn't even fluttered a single deep blue eye in the time that she'd entered the room, and it was starting to worry her. She tried to distract herself with the food she'd bought the both of them when she'd gone into town earlier. But still, her eyes continuously roamed over to the sleeping blond that still refused to open his eyes. Again, she crossed over to the bed and sat on the edge, placing a hand on his head. But she quickly retracted it. His skin was burning to the point that it hurt to even touch him. She bit her lip. Could she have overworked him to the point that he'd drawn ill?

"Noboru-kun, please wake up," she pleaded, emerald eyes glistening. "I'm sorry."

She got up from the bed and grabbed a small bowl from the counter on her way to the bathroom. She filled the bowl with water from the sink and grabbed a single washcloth. Dumping the washcloth in the water, she carried it back into the room where Noboru still lay, his eyes remaining shut and his breathing slowed. She crossed the room and sat at his bedside, placing the damp cloth on his heated forehead, hoping to cool his growing temperature. Gently, she rested a hand underneath his back and pushed him upward into a sitting position, careful not to make the washcloth drop from his forehead. With the other hand, she struggled to remove his jacket and T-shirt, struggling to keep the blush that was threatening her cheeks from rising. _'It's to help cool him down,' _She convinced herself repeatedly. She tossed the discarded garments to the ground, gently laying Noboru's head back on the pillows. She soaked the washcloth on his forehead again and stood from her seat beside his bed, going over to the bags that she'd bought in town before discovering his current state. She reached inside and began to prepare a pack of instant ramen for herself and Noboru, in case he woke up and was hungry.

* * *

**[Somewhere between Konoha and Suna]**

Hinata was growing weary, and she hadn't even been traveling that long. She was only a few hours into her journey, and she was already dead on her feet. Perhaps it would have been better to postpone this trip for later, after she was well-rested. After all, this journey had been of a spur of the moment. It wasn't exactly planned, no matter what she'd discovered from the Hokage's files. But, then again, there wasn't much she could do about that now. She was already far into her adventure and it wouldn't be wise to return to the village. They may have already suspected her absence and were searching for her. If she were to return now, she may not get a chance to do this tomorrow night, or even the night after. And that was as far as she was willing to go to postpone her task.

Yawning, she sat down underneath the safe shadow of an old oak tree, her back pressed to the rough bark of its trunk. The few bushes surrounding it were enough to hide her in case a few enemies decided to come her way, and she felt that she was secure enough for a brief rest. When she awoke, she would continue her trek to Suna without delay.

* * *

**[Tanzaku Town]**

Itachi glanced briefly towards the sky, which was now hovering barely over the distant horizon. In the opposite direction, the moon hung high in the air, as if daring the sun to reappear and ruin the darkness of its night. A gentle breeze flew by, brushing his bangs across his pale face and the sleeves of his long coat to flap, quiet and rapid.

"Come, Kisame. He should be alone now. The lecherous bastard and Hatake Kakashi should have left him alone by now," he spoke quietly. His words were almost lost with the wind. His partner seemed to hear him, however, and nodded his head as a sickeningly devilish smile eased its way onto his scaley lips.

He chuckled darkly. "Heheh, Finally. It's been boring just waiting here," he replied. His voice was enough to make an entire orphanage cry. He continued to smile as he followed his much smaller but far more powerful partner towards the object of their current interest.

* * *

**[The Hotel]**

Sakura was just finishing up her ramen when she heard coughing coming from where Noboru lay by the bed. Her brow furrowed deeply in concern, and she set her empty bowl down on the table and stood up, making her way over to him. He appeared to still be sleeping, but his hands were now tightly clenched into fists, and his body was shaking as if he was suddenly cold. Frowning, she reached for the blanket that was currently underneath him and tried to move it up and over his body to make him a bit more comfortable. But the second she made the first gentle jerk, Noboru flung forward, covering his mouth with his hand and coughing horribly. His body racked with convulsions, and he shook with each aching cough.

Sakura immediately went into medic mode. "Noboru, are you okay?" she asked. But after she spoke it, she realized that it was a pretty stupid question. Of course he wasn't alright. Shaking her head at herself, she placed a hand on Noboru's back, rubbing small circles against his bare back. She tried to soothe him with calming words, urging him back down onto the soft bed. She held him down by his chest, her hands already producing the green healing aura that she hoped would make him better. But Noboru was restless, his eyes clenched shut as he struggled beneath her hands. His teeth grit tightly against one another as he squirmed, seeming to try to sit back up again.

"Noboru, you have to be still," Sakura ordered him, wanting nothing more than to knock the poor boy unconscious yet again. But she refrained, opting instead to simply hold him down.

Suddenly, Noboru lurched forward again, but this time turned to the side of his bed. His fists clenched tighter and tighter, his knuckles turning whiter than Sakura had ever seen them. His nails bit into his palms, breaking skin and causing blood to drip from between his fingers. Now leaning over the side of the bed, little noises escaped him. This continued for quite a while until, finally, Noboru gave off a sound that sounded familiarly like a cat hacking up a furball, before his body flopped back down on his pillows and he was asleep again.

Sakura grew concerned at the red rustic liquid that sat at the corner of his lips. She frowned and wiped it away, grabbing the washcloth that had fallen from his head and replacing it. She gave him a quick once over and walked over on the other side of the bed, determined to clean up her meal and get a bit of rest.

But, as she passed the area where Noboru had been hunched over, she spotted something that made her stop dead in her tracks. Blood; A puddle of it.

Before she had time to properly worry about the puddle of blood, there was a crisp and clean knock on the door of the room. Curious as to who could possibly be visiting, especially at this hour, she walked to the door and prepared herself to open it. Perhaps it was someone who simply had the wrong room. Then she could properly tell them so and go back to the concerning blood puddle. She gripped the doorknob in her palm and turned it gently, pulling it towards her. But as she looked at who was on the other side of the door, her breath caught in her throat.

"Sasuke-kun...?"

* * *

**A/N Cliffhanger... Hehe. Sorry! Also, so sorry for the late update. Again... Really, I'll try to get the next one out sooner. Honest. Hehe... ^_^'**

**Anywho... Thanks to Hitokiri Shinzui, bloody raptor, and Panduh-Fox-love for the reviews. **

**Speaking of reviews, I would like to ask something. No, nothing about "ten reviews per chapter" or anything. But instead that if you have ANY problems with the story at all, that you would let me know. Accuracy, grammar, anything. I want reviews that tell me what I'm doing wrong as well as what I'm doing right. For improvement purposes and such. But, the same reviews are always welcome. I guess what I'm trying to say is that respectful criticism is welcome. Yeah, that's it. RESPECTFUL CRITICISM IS WELCOME!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. REVIEW.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Moments after her quiet outburst, Sakura could now see that she was wrong in her assumption. This man in front of her could not be her Sasuke-kun, no matter how close a resemblance they shared. This man had a scary look within his eyes, even when he was merely glancing in her direction. It was a cold gaze, careless about the worth of a single human life. It forced her to look away.

"What do you want?" she quickly asked, hoping to keep her voice from wavering. Her manners were quickly forgotten when she realized that neither of the men at the door were very pleasant people themselves. Especially the scaly man with a razor sharp smile that seemed to shake her to her core. It was then that she finally caught a glimpse of the cloaks that the two men were wearing. The red clouds were what caught his attention. "Akatsuki..."

The shorter man, the one that resembled Sasuke, narrowed his coal black eyes. "It seems that the pleasant small talk is over," he muttered, his tone monotone. He stepped further into the room, staring down at her. "Where is he?"

Sakura held his stare. "Where is who?" she asked. She tried not to allow her gaze to drift to where Noboru was lying on the bed. Obviously, they weren't talking about innocent little Noboru. Perhaps it was Sai or Kakashi they were asking about. They couldn't possibly know that she and Noboru were ahead of them.

The scaly man was the one to answer her this time. "Uzumaki Naruto," he answered, the razor sharp smile of his never receding from his horrible face.

Sakura's heart lurched at the sound of her fallen teammate. Though she had begun to heal more since the arrival of her upbeat new teammate, her wounds still hadn't completely healed. Her chest still ached at the mention of him. Still, she forced her expression to remain neutral as she replied, "six feet under."

She held her ground, her fingers moving towards her weapon pouch, ready to strike if she saw the slightest movement from either of them. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep them off for long if they decided to attack, but she had to protect her sickly teammate inside. Noboru was in no condition to defend himself, and until some miracle arrived and help eventually came, she would protect him with her life if it deemed itself necessary.

The scaly man finally dropped the sinister smile from his face. "Itachi, what do you say? Can I slice her down a few sizes?" he growled, his eyes resting on her body. Sakura's eyes scanned him as well, noticing a rather large object attached to his back. It squirmed, unnoticeable to the untrained eye, and it made her narrow her eyes in suspicion.

Itachi looked carelessly down at her, as if he could care less whether she lived or died. Sakura realized that he probably didn't. She obviously wasn't who they were looking for, and therefore could be overlooked as a causality. At the thought, her heart thudded down to her feet, her blood running cold. Her fingers and toes prickled as if she'd just obtained frost bite. Of course they wouldn't think twice about killing her. It was most likely what they did on a daily basis. Kill people.

"Go ahead."

* * *

**[Tanzaku Town]**

Kakashi looked amongst the crowds of citizens, searching for the familiar faces of his young teammates and former students. He could only hope that they had yet to find someone who remembered seeing the Uchiha and can point out which way he had gone. With Sakura's determination and Noboru's stamina, they could have already left the town by now. The only hope he had was that the two of them decided to rest for the night. After all, the sky was darkening overhead.

"Kakashi-san," Sai called. He rushed behind him. "I found someone who may have spotted Sakura-san and Noboru-kun." Kakashi turned around on his heels, anxious to catch up with two of his teammates so they could actually get started on the task at hand. _Together. _But he was disappointed to see that Sai was not standing beside a full grown adult, as he had thought, but was holding the hand of a little boy who couldn't be older than maybe six.

Sai noticed the look on Kakashi's face. "He says that he saw Sakura-san leaving one of the stores a little while ago." He nudged the younger boy's side, which caused him to blush and look at Kakashi with a look that resembled a deer caught in headlights. Kakashi didn't blame him. He imagined that if he were to see himself now, he wouldn't want to talk to him, either.

The little boy shuffled his feet. He said nothing, but pointed in the general direction of a side street. From his scouring of the city, he knew that in that direction lay a hotel, a ramen stand, and a few warehouses. If Kakashi tried to guess her schedule from the moment she stepped into town. He would guess that she checked into the hotel first, left after growing comfortable with her surroundings, and bought Noboru and herself a meal during the stay. Which, if the hotel was any clue, they were planning to stay until the morning. He sighed in relief. So they weren't too late after all.

"Sai, make sure that the boy gets home safely. You can find me at that hotel," he pointed in the direction that the young boy had directed, "once I've gathered up Noboru and Sakura."

Sai nodded and grabbed the young boy's hand, taking off in the opposite direction that Kakashi intended. He wasted no time in taking off down the side street. He took a few detours via the roofs of a few warehouses, and reached the front of the hotel in record time. Though, knowing that Sakura and Noboru were resting for the night, he honestly couldn't explain the rushed feeling he had of making it to his young students. It was an anxiety that was building up inside of him, making his thoughts a flurry inside his mind.

He found out from the woman occupying the front desk which room Sakura and Noboru were staying in for the night. The woman tried to warn him of something before he took off, but Kakashi was too much in a rush to listen to her qualms. Within the hour, he could have both Sakura and Noboru looking shamefaced and be back on track with the mission. Hopefully, the two of them have already completed the second step of their mission, and no more time should be wasted.

He reached the door and was surprised to find that it was slightly ajar. He frowned, becoming suspicious. He reached into his weapon's pouch and produced a kunai, gripping it tightly in his fist. He slowly pushed the door open and ducked inside, keeping low as he searched the room for anything and everything that would give away towards a struggle. But as he gave the room a quick once-over, he found nothing. Everything was in its proper place, nothing so much as a scratch on the wall.

But his nose told him otherwise. The opened window allowed for a breeze to roll in, and the scent of blood wafted up his nostrils. He cut his eyes in the direction of the scent, going on the defensive once again. "Sakura," he called, hoping to bait whoever was in the room that wasn't supposed to be. Something had happened here; blood didn't just come from no where. He crept farther into the room, flicking on a light as to see better.

His breath caught in his throat. "Sakura!"

He darted over to the young pinkette, who lay unconscious on the floor, facing the wall. She didn't stir as he called her name a second time, nor did she when he knelt beside her. His knees fell into a puddle of reddish liquid surrounding the girl. He grit his teeth as he realized that this was where the scent of blood was coming from. He cursed and gently lifted Sakura from the floor, examining her body for her wounds, all the while vowing to get his revenge on whoever harmed his precious student. Strangely, he noticed, Sakura's body was still warm; not cold, as he would have thought it would be by now, with so much blood loss. He continued to examine her closely, and, after finding no visible injuries on the areas that were exposed on her, he sat back on his haunches to allow himself thinking time. And then something struck him. Where the hell was Noboru?

"N-Naruto-kun," Sakura muttered restlessly in her sleep, as if hearing his thoughts.

* * *

**[Half an hour earlier]**

"Go ahead."

Sakura's heart thudded against her chest as she heard Itachi's confirmation. It dropped down to her feet as she watched in horror as Kisame's hand flung to the large object on his back. He whipped it in front of him and made a motion as if to slice her in half. Sakura cursed and jumped back, just in time to narrowly escape the blow. She landed only two or three feet away, her eyes widening as she saw the damage down to the floor where she once stood. The wood was splintered and split in half, as if a crater had crashed into it. She swallowed hard as she thought of the damage the strike could have done to her own body.

She felt the eerie feel of eyes watching her. She turned her head in the direction of Itachi, who stared down at her in disinterest. She caught his gaze and held it, triumphant not to allow it to get to her. Noboru needed her to protect them both, and she would make sure she served her purpose, not allowing either of these dangerous men to kill either of them. She would fight tooth and claw to survive and if they still managed to kill them, well, then they never had a chance of saving Sasuke.

Itachi's eyes left hers in order to flick towards his violent companion. He nodded his head, so slight a motion that Sakura nearly missed it, and took a step towards her. She tensed, ready for a battle, but the man never even glanced in her direction. The only motion he made towards her was a shove to her shoulder, as to push her out of his way. Sakura stumbled and whirled around, ready to attack him. But she froze, and watched in horror as he stood in front of Noboru, a hand on the boy's forehead.

She gasped. "Get away from him!" she shouted desperately. She moved to run towards them, in an effort to save her sickly teammate, but suddenly found herself immobile. Kisame was holding her, having grabbed her to keep her from going after his partner. He laughed darkly, and placed his massive sword at her throat. She swallowed but soon regretted it as the skin at her neck was cut into, blood dribbling down the base of her throat. She winced, her breathing shallow and her blood running cold. These men were going to murder them both, and she couldn't do anything but watch them do it.

Itachi grabbed Noboru and tore him from the bed as if he was a ragdoll. He ignored the blood that dripped from the boy's mouth as he wrapped his fingers around his throat. Noboru squirmed instinctively, and Sakura watched in horror as Itachi's fingers gripped tighter on his neck. She yelled, pleading and begging for him to leave him alone, but it only earned her the pleasure of feeling Kisame's sword pressing into her throat again. She winced.

"Henge..." Itachi spoke quietly, eerily, "is an impressive technique, isn't it?" He ran his thumb along the base of Noboru's throat. Sakura only watched, squirming and wanting to rip Noboru from his grasp. She didn't listen to his words, didn't want to hear a word that he had to say. He was a criminal, and therefore every word he spoke was suspect. "...Kai..."

She watched as a cloud surrounded Noboru's body. She gasped. At first, she had always been suspicious of her new teammate, but she had slowly begun to trust him as time went by. Especially when she'd been caught in the rain and he'd willingly saved her, probably saving her from getting sick or, more unlikely, being struck by lightning. He hadn't needed to follow her that day or keep her warm, but he had. Because he actually cared about her. Or, so she thought. Now, as she watched the smoke dispel from Noboru's body, she truly didn't know what to think. Who was Noboru really? Was he some nefarious fiend who was trying to wheedle his way into the hearts of everyone in Konoha, just to get them off guard and betray them? Or was he actually the innocent appearing boy who was able to finally make her smile after such a long period of sadness? Or was he-

"Uzumaki Naruto..."

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by Itachi's voice, forced to focus on the newly revealed identity of Yamamoto Noboru. She took in his new appearance one section at a time. His skin didn't seem to change very much, still appearing sun kissed and perfect in every way in her eyes. His hair had turned to a brighter gold, resembling the setting sun rather than bleached wheat. His eyes, like his skin, remained the same color, which she was grateful for. If Noboru turned out to truly be innocent, and was just misunderstood, she would hate to have to lose those eyes forever. Her eyes traveled lower, taking in his whole face, and she inhaled sharply.

"N-Naruto-Kun," she whispered, afraid if she spoke too loudly she would awaken herself from this blissful dream. How could this be possible? No, Naruto was dead. She was simply dreaming of him, like she did ever so often. She'd come to term with his death a long time ago. It was impossible for him to be standing so close to her, only a few feet away. If Kisame wasn't clutching her so tightly, he would be within arms reach of him, be able to touch him with the tips of her fingers. No, this wasn't true. It was just a mind game- a genjutsu.

It was definitely _not _Naruto.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Itachi drew something from inside his cloak. His hand still held Naruto by his throat. She gasped as the object glinted in the moonlight peeking through the curtains, and her resolve broke. No matter what she forced her brain to believe, it wouldn't stop screaming to her that Naruto was in trouble. The object in Itachi's hands was sharp, she could see, and didn't look the least bit friendly. Although, nothing about these horrid mean seemed friendly. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him press the object to Naruto's stomach. The tip sliced through his clothes, but she could see that it didn't pierce him. Poor Naruto, she thought. He was about to die and he didn't even know it! Itachi retracted the sharp object again and looked at the clean surface of it, free of blood. His face was emotionless as he turned it to point at Naruto again. He shoved it into him roughly, and Sakura felt her own breath leave her as if she were the one to be stabbed instead of him. Tears prickled her eyes at the red liquid that seeped visibly through Naruto's clothes. She screamed and writhed in Kisame's arms, struggling to get to her dying teammate. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She just knew that she had to save him before she lost him again. Itachi ignored her cries and continued to torture the awakening Naruto. Blood dribbled down the boy's chin and his eyes were dulled by the pain he was receiving. Finally, Itachi completely withdrew the kunai from Naruto's stomach and wiped the blood from its surface on his shirt. He then moved his thumb from where it sat carelessly on Naruto's adam's apple and replaced it with the sharp knife-like object. Sakura's eyes grew wide and almost bugged out of her head. Her breathing quickened and she squirmed wildly, knowing she had to get free for Naruto's sake. She couldn't lose him again! Itachi chuckled softly, darkly, and his emotionless face took on what seemed like a small smirk. His chuckling grew louder until it was a full on side gripping laugh, and the knife quivered on Naruto's throat. It dug into his skin, causing blood to trickle and slide down to rest at his collarbone. Tears slid down Sakura's cheeks, burning her eyes and blurring her vision. Naruto was going to die- again- and there was nothing she could do to save him.

She watched in horror as Itachi flicked the knife and _slit Naruto's throat._

_

* * *

_

**A/N Okay, sorry for the late update. Again. I'm trying to do better, honest! Please don't give up on me yet. Comments, questions, concerns: REVIEW! Oh, and seriously. Constructive Criticism is welcome. **_  
_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Itachi moved gracefully and without a hitch, his body flying throughout the trees despite the package on his back. Beside him was his partner, slightly slower but not by much. It had been around thirty minutes or so since they left the hotel room belonging to Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. The blonde boy was still laying asleep on his back, somehow undisturbed even in the battle that had just occurred. He only stirred slightly when a racking cough came over him, in which they would need to stop and take a break until he finished. Not because they necessarily cared about his welfare, but because they needed to make sure he was well enough to travel without keeling over. They needed the jinchuuriki alive, not dead. His illness was a problem that slowed down their general speed, but needed careful consideration.

After a long journey of silence, Kisame spoke up. "Itachi, how long do you think until someone starts trailing us for the boy?" he asked and glanced over at Naruto's sleeping body. The boy was scuffed up, but was otherwise unharmed. Itachi and Kisame had dropped him in the river to hide his scent from Kakashi's dogs in case he was the one who had to guard over Naruto, which had done nothing for Naruto's sickness. If anything, his coughing became more frequent, making their trip go that much slower. Dipping him in the river was only another of their many attempts to slow down their captors.

Itachi shrugged. Even he didn't know. They acted so quickly that they hadn't had time to truly do any research on the situation. They had absolutely no clue as to who Naruto was on this trip with, nor who he was staying with. Neither of them knew that he and Sakura were sharing a room until the girl answered the door. Though, even that was an assumption that they didn't have time to prove. Everything to do with their current mission was either a guess or a last minute realization. The task was unplanned and they were forced to take each thing one step at a time, handle each obstacle as they crossed it. It was a frustrating thing. Itachi wasn't used to feeling surprised, always knowing everything before taking the first step. But this time, he could do no such thing. And it was driving him insane.

* * *

**[Hotel]**

Sai came into the room to witness Kakashi hunched over an unconscious Sakura's body. If he had any emotions, or knew what they were, he had a good feeling that now would be the time to feel shocked. And so he plastered the expression on his face and strode over to Kakashi's side. He knelt down and became curious at the sight of the blood beneath his "teammate's" unconscious form. But Kakashi didn't seem to be worried about the situation, so he wasn't either. He simply watched as Kakashi pressed his fingers to the gooey red liquid and held it in front of his nose. He sniffed and cursed, wiping the blood on his pants and turning Sakura on her side. He searched her with medical precision, and eventually set her on her back again. He cursed yet again, and Sai raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The older shinobi hadn't spoken a word to him, or even acknowledged him entering the room. He seemed deep in thought, the only thing occupying the space being him and the evidence in front of him. Sai assumed that Kakashi classified Sakura as "evidence".

Finally, Kakashi stood up and grabbed Sakura by her arm. She hung limp like a rag doll, and the older shinobi placed her on his back. The lifelessness of Sakura's body made Sai wonder if the young girl was actually dead. Maybe that was why Kakashi had cursed. He'd lost the second of three students, and the third was about to be killed in the next few days. Sai thought that if he had possessed his emotions, he should take pity on the man. It must be hard to lose your entire team and not being able to do anything about it. He reached out to put a comforting hand on the man's shoulder, but Kakashi fixed him with a hard and determined stare.

"Let's go."

Sai looked bewildered. "Back to Konoha?" he questioned, uncomprehending.

"No, Sai. We have to rescue Noboru from whoever took him and injured Sakura. For whatever reason." Kakashi went throughout the room, grabbing unfinished food from the table. Apparently, the two young shinobi were interrupted in the middle of dinner. He packed the ramen into the packs with the rest of their rations. They may need them, and it was best to think of everything when facing an unknown enemy.

Sai looked around the room, suddenly realizing that the hyperactive loudmouth blond member of the team was missing. Though with the overwhelming smell of blood, it wouldn't have surprised him if the kid was blown up, or dead by other means.

"Are you sure he's alive," Sai asked. Kakashi turned to him, his eyes flashing with anger before one of them returned to their normal black depths. He shook his head, looking as if he aged ten years since walking into the room.

"I can only hope so."

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

Naruto sat in a corner of a room, opposite his darker self. His lip was split and blood oozed from the wound. It refused to heal on its own like it usually would, and left Naruto wondering what was wrong with Kyuubi. He refused to speak to him, and had sounded so cruel in the moments before he had disappeared and the evil Naruto had appeared. And Naruto was so sure that he and Kyuubi had come to some sort of an understanding. After his death and rebirth, the fox demon was all he had left in this world. Sakura acted like she cared, but in the end he realized she was still only using him to get Sasuke. The first chance she got, she sent him off to find that bastard just like the first time, risking his life like it was nothing. But Kyuubi was there for him. Given, he only cared because his life was tied to his, but caring was caring. It was more than anyone else was doing recently. But now that Kyuubi disappeared and didn't seem to care one way or another, he was alone. He was better off dead.

"Don't think that way," Kurai stated from the other side of the room. Unlike Naruto, the darker twin was unscathed after their short-lived battle earlier. Obviously, he was the winner. By a long shot. Now, he stood and simply watched Naruto lick his wounds with a smirk on his face. They'd even shared some sort of a conversation earlier, later followed by tense silence. It would seem that Kurai wanted to speak some more.

Naruto glared at his darker self. "Why not? No one cares anymore. No one cared anyway. What's the point in living if you don't have anyone that could care whether you live or die?"

"What about Gaara?" Kurai asked, sounding more matter-of-fact rather than as if he was trying to actually make Naruto feel better.

"What about him?"

"I would have thought he cared."

"He cared about who I was. He liked Naruto because we were the same. He doesn't even know Noboru exists..." Naruto said quietly, looking down at the damp ground below. Did Kyuubi know that he would have no one left when he returned to the Land of the Living? Was all of this just some way to make him feel so low and depressed that his will diminished, and the fox could eventually take him over? Or was that was Kurai was for? To weaken him to the point that the fox could take over. If that was the case, what was the point of his existence? Why should he live, then? He was completely and utterly _alone_...

Dark Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "If you hate your existence so much, why don't you go ahead and kill yourself?" he asked with a smirk playing at his lips.

"If I do, you'll die, too. And you're all I have left..."

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

Sasuke touched his eye, standing in front of one of the doors of the cold dark building that was his home. He almost chuckled at the thought. No, homes were warm and filled with family and life. He hadn't had a home in a long, long time. Team seven almost became his home, and was so close, too. But this place, this wasn't a home. It didn't even come close. This was the space he occupied while he completed the quest of killing his brother. Until then, he would be homeless, and probably would be that way for the rest of his life. He could never return to Konoha, not after what he did. Killing Naruto and then running off when he couldn't take the stares. Sakura would forgive him, or pretend to, but no one else would. "You don't belong here," the stares would say. And he would believe them.

"Sasuke-kun," a raspy yet silky voice called from behind the still-closed door. It rang in Sasuke's ears, snapping him from his thoughts. "What are you waiting for? I haven't got all day. Come in here." The voice was impatient, and Sasuke's hand rested on the door as he pushed it open.

The room inside was dark, no sunlight streaming in. Which was understandable. The sun usually hid from every room in this building. It preferred to keep its happiness away from the people inside, knowing it would be wasting its time to spread its rays here. The people who lived here did not deserve happiness, nor did they particularly care for it. Dead center of the room was a single bed, the light from a stray lamp illuminating a figure on the bed. Long black hair covered the majority of his face, but what could be seen of it was pale and sickly. His singly visible eye was baggy, just like Sasuke knew the rest of his body was. His health was deteriorating, his body dying. The man was suffering greatly in the meantime, not that he didn't deserve every second of agony he got, and then some. For what he did to others, what he did to Sasuke even, he deserved to _die._

"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said silkily. It was obvious he would have gestured to Sasuke if he could lift his arm. He'd waited too long, and now his body was nearly useless to him. "Come here, boy." But Sasuke didn't move. He remained standing in the door frame, the light of the hallway causing his figure to glow. His hand rested on his sword, nearly unnoticeable to untrained eyes. Orochimaru hissed at both Sasuke's disobedience and the way his hand rested on the weapon at his side. "What are you doing, Sasuke?"

* * *

**[Location: Unknown]**

Kurai looked shocked at Naruto's words. He had tried to kill the boy, had threatened everything he knew and loved, and he was worried about killing himself because of _him? _Not himself, but him, he that wouldn't have given a rat's ass if the roles were switched. He didn't want _him _to die? He was all he had? Kurai swallowed hard, plopping down on the damp ground below him and his alternate personality. The dark pants he wore soaked his skin as the water seeped through the flimsy material, but he barely noticed it. "You don't... want me to die?" he asked slowly.

Naruto looked up, nodding his head solemnly. "You're all I have left. I don't have anybody else. My important people... they don't care about me. Kyuubi, he just wants my body. And you wanna kill me, but you're me, too. And I guess that makes us brothers. I've never had a brother before. But I know brothers take care of each other. And I don't want you to die."

Kurai continued to look at him. '_B-Brothers?'_ He cleared his throat, glaring across at Naruto. "Idiot. I can't be your brother. I'm you. Just you. We don't just share DNA or have the same parents. It's not like I'm even made out of Kyuubi chakra. I'm just you. We're not brothers, we're just the same. Alternate personalities."

Naruto smiled sadly. "I still think we're brothers."

* * *

**[Dense Forestry]**

Itachi listened in irritation as Naruto's body began to heave and cough again. They were disgusting liquid filled coughs, blood splurting with every surge. Itachi was sure that the back of his cloak was already covered in the boy's blood. Though they hadn't injured him, and most of it was due to the boy's affliction. An illness that neither of them could place. Kisame growled, sounding just as frustrated with the jinchuuriki as his partner was. This trip was taking longer than it should have. By now, they should have been nearly halfway to the point that they were supposed to be. But they were barely a half of that, and they'd been traveling for hours. They stopped again, landing on the ground and setting the still unconscious Naruto form on the ground in front of them. Kisame helped to hold the boy into a sitting position, while Itachi felt in his bag for the small round pills they'd been giving him during the short journey. He frowned when he realized they were running short. If they continued this way, there wouldn't be any left for him or Kisame. And Itachi preferred to be prepared in any situation.

He slid a small faded yellow pillow into the boy's mouth that was currently dripping blood. It ran from the corners of his mouth, sliding down his pale neck and staining his already red coated chest. Even after his quick dip in the water. If it wasn't for his steady breathing and the pulse jumping in his neck, Itachi would have classified him as dead and sent for someone to dispose of the body. And by someone, he mainly meant Zetsu.

"He's going to die, even before the Kyuubi is extracted," Itachi said unemotionally, his quiet voice carrying throughout the even quieter forest. He touched Naruto's scorching skin and shaking his head. The boy's fever had even skyrocketed since he'd last checked it. If nothing else about this illness killed him, it was going to be his fever.

"What can we do?" Kisame asked. He set Naruto gently back down on the grass. Not because he cared whether or not he hurt him, but because the boy was already sick enough. One injury might send his health over the edge, and they'd never succeed in their mission. Not like it looked as if they would succeed either way.

Itachi stared curiously at Naruto for what seemed like the longest seconds in the world. Finally, he said, "We can't risk extracting the kyuubi any time soon. His health is at too great of a risk. Not to mention a hindrance. We'll have to wait for him to get better."

Kisame looked shocked. "But we don't know how long that will take! Or how long he has already been this way. It could take years for him to get better, or get worse. And we have no idea how serious this condition is. He could be dead by tomorrow morning, and we will have-"

Kisame was interrupted as he came into contact with Itachi's hand. The back of his hand, in fact. Which was oh so strange to him. Itachi hated violence. If he needed to kill, he liked to make it quick. Otherwise, he incapacitated his enemy and went on his merry way. For his partner to actually _strike _him...! Blood dribbled down from Kisame's lip, dripping down his jaw to be wiped away by a scaly hand. He looked up at Itachi, shocked by the shorter man's actions.

"Don't tell me what we don't know. I am perfectly capable of seeing what we don't know. What I want you to tell me, Kisame, is what we do know. Otherwise, shut the hell up, sit there, and look pretty," Itachi ordered coldly.

* * *

**A/N Another late chapter. I don't mean to be so late all the time. It just turns out that way. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. Any comments, questions, or concerns, please review. Or recommendations. I like those. Your thoughts and ideas matter to me. Oh, and before I forget, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS WELCOME! **


	13. Chapter 13

**[Previously]**

_"He's going to die, even before the Kyuubi is extracted," Itachi said unemotionally, his quiet voice carrying throughout the even quieter forest. _

_"What can we do?" Kisame asked. He set Naruto gently back down on the grass. Not because he cared whether or not he hurt him, but because the boy was already sick enough. One injury might send his health over the edge, and they'd never succeed in their mission. _

_"We can't risk extracting the kyuubi any time soon. His health is at too great of a risk. Not to mention a hindrance. We'll have to wait for him to get better."_

_Kisame looked shocked. "But we don't know how long that will take! Or how long he has already been this way. It could take years for him to get better, or get worse. And we have no idea how serious this condition is. He could be dead by tomorrow morning, and we will have-"_

_Kisame was interrupted as he came into contact with Itachi's hand. The back of his hand, in fact. Which was oh so strange to him. Itachi hated violence. If he needed to kill, he liked to make it quick. Otherwise, he incapacitated his enemy and went on his merry way. For his partner to actually strike him...! Blood dribbled down from Kisame's lip, dripping down his jaw to be wiped away by a scaly hand. He looked up at Itachi, shocked by the shorter man's actions._

_"Don't tell me what we don't know. I am perfectly capable of seeing what we don't know. What I want you to tell me, Kisame, is what we do know."_

**XXX**

_Kurai continued to look at him. 'B-Brothers?' He cleared his throat, glaring across at Naruto. "Idiot. I can't be your brother. I'm you. Just you. We don't just share DNA or have the same parents. It's not like I'm even made out of Kyuubi chakra. I'm just you. We're not brothers, we're just the same. Alternate personalities."_

_Naruto smiled sadly. "I still think we're brothers."_

**XXX**

_"No, Sai. We have to rescue Noboru from whoever took him and injured Sakura. For whatever reason." Kakashi went throughout the room, grabbing unfinished food from the table. Apparently, the two young shinobi were interrupted in the middle of dinner. He packed the ramen into the packs with the rest of their rations. They may need them, and it was best to think of everything when facing an unknown enemy._

_Sai looked around the room, suddenly realizing that the hyperactive loudmouth blond member of the team was missing. Though with the overwhelming smell of blood, it wouldn't have surprised him if the kid was blown up, or dead by other means._

_"Are you sure he's alive," Sai asked. Kakashi turned to him, his eyes flashing with anger before one of them returned to their normal black depths. He shook his head, looking as if he aged ten years since walking into the room._

_"I can only hope so."_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Thirteen**

Kurai wanted to wrap his fingers around Naruto's throat and embrace him at the same time. He was simply so stubborn, yet he was beginning to grow on him. From the moment he'd stated he didn't want him to die, and was willing to continue going through hell because of it, he had hated him slightly less. He still hated him, but it was a less powerful hate. After all, a few moments of care could not replace a lifetime of being locked in his subconscious, left to rot. Left to wallow in his own childhood sadness, which eventually turned to hatred over who caused that sadness. And that hatred only grew for his alternate self when he saw him befriending those that caused the both of them pain. Did he forget how they treated him? Beat him? How he'd have to run away from mobs on his birthdays, fearing for his life? Did he simply turn the other cheek to that? How could he betray him like that?

And that was the true reason behind his feelings for Naruto. He betrayed him. They were one person, and they were all they had. Themselves. Himself. And he just... betrayed him. Left him, deciding to split them apart to instead frolic with the enemy. To become their hated hero. And he, Naruto's hate, was left to watch it with the watery eyes of a mistreated child. Simply tossed away like a meaningless ragdoll.

He narrowed his eyes as he stared across the vast space at his alter ego. Naruto simply continued to sit there as if his words really had meant nothing. He stared at his fingertips, his brow creased in contemplation. They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. All the while, Naruto continued to think of Sakura, and whether she had gotten back to the room yet. How long had he been trapped in his own mind? Not exactly trapped, but without a foreseeable way out. He wondered if it had been days yet. Time didn't exist here, he knew. He'd found that out in the timeless moments of his death. Maybe it had only been seconds. Maybe Sakura was still out getting away from him and hadn't returned to the room yet. Or maybe it was years, and he was back in Konoha. By now they would have declared him comatose, his body plugged by various tubes while the only visitors he had were Medical Ninjas. Sakura wouldn't show up unless she was forced to. And none of his former friends would care enough to make an appearance, either. He sighed, looking up from his fingers and towards Kurai. He was sitting there, staring blankly in front of him. His knees were up to his chest, his fists resting on them and his knuckles white with tension. Naruto became curious. This Kurai, so tensed, was a world apart from the Kurai he met at the beginning of this whole ordeal, who was nothing but mocking and relaxed.

* * *

**[Desolate Cottage]**

The probably once warm cottage was covered in moss, the spongy green plant covering the logs that caused the cottage to exist. There were spaces where the wood had rotted and had given in and caused holes to form. The grass was unkempt and long, rising way beyond Itachi's knees. As they approached the desolate little home, Itachi was sure to check Naruto's body for ticks. The little parasites loved to hide in tall grass, and the boy could not afford to lose any more blood. Itachi led the way into the cottage, and Kisame brought in the rear with Naruto on his back. He shut the wooden and rotting door closed behind him, and found that the three of them would have been shrouded in darkness had it not been from the holes. He also observed that the three of them were standing in the living room, and the cottage was already furnished for the most part. There was an old rug somewhere near the middle of the floor, coated with so much dirt that the colors were indistinguishable. All that Itachi could make out was that they ranged from red to blue to green. There was a couch sitting cozily on top of it, dust and dirt coating that as well. It seemed the cottage had been abandoned for quite some time, and whoever left it didn't feel the need to take the furniture or clean the place up.

Kisame set Naruto on the couch, frowning as his unconscious body slumped slightly. He stared at the boy, wondering what to do about the boy's nude upper body. It got cold at night and there didn't seem to be any leftover firewood for the fireplace. It wouldn't be wise to keep the already ill boy cold. As he contemplated, he barely noticed as Itachi came up beside him and, as if sensing his thoughts, pulled his cloak from his body and draped it over Naruto's form. It fit like a small blanket over him, and Kisame would have thought he seemed that much more comfortable. He turned to his partner, raising an eyebrow at his kindness but Itachi was already across the room with his back towards him.

Without turning around, he simply said, "We want him alive, Kisame. It would be stupid if he was to die over the sniffles." His voice sounded annoyed, and Kisame decided to leave it at that. He sat on the couch to the left of Naruto, propping his head up in his hand.

Itachi turned back around to face him, his face the usual impassive. Absently brushing a stray hair from his eyes, he said coolly, "We should have a bit of time before the nine tails absolutely has to be extracted. We still haven't achieved the Hachibi yet. There's time."

Kisame frowned. "But there's still a time limit." He was cautious of his words, unsure what would set off his partner's unusual temper.

"There's time," Itachi said again, his voice firmer. He walked closer to stand in front of the couch, and Kisame worried that he was going to hit him again. Or worse. But he only laid a hand on Naruto's forehead, then trailed it along the boy's flushed cheeks and throat. A crease lined his brow, though so slight that Kisame doubted it truly existed. Finally, Itachi pulled his hand away, his gaze continuing to stare at the ill boy. "I doubt anyone knew of this. It wouldn't be wise to send him on a mission in his current condition."

"They could have been on their way to a treatment center."

Itachi waved off the suggestion. Konoha was home to some of the best medical-nins in the shinobi world. Not to mention that the Hokage was the slug princess herself. If she couldn't heal him, no one could. No, this wasn't something that was known to many, if any at all. And he had to figure out just how many, if any, that was.

A thought stuck him. The pink haired girl. She'd seemed properly concerned for his sickly teammate as they entered the room. Had even had the guts to try to protect him from them. Surely she knew of the boy's illness. She must have.

"The pink haired girl," Itachi muttered, his thoughts whirling at the prospect of a solution.

Kisame looked confused. "What?"

"The medical ninja in the room with Naruto-kun. She must have known about him."

Kisame didn't seem to be catching on. "Go on," he said slowly. Honestly, if he had any say-so, Naruto would have been dead by now. Samehada was already squirming for him. And the boy was becoming more of a pain than he was worth. Surely they could achieve their goals with just the eight bijuus instead of all nine.

Itachi looked bored and annoyed at the same time. He turned away from him again, as if he was speaking to an idiot and honestly did not have the patience to even look at him. "So, Kisame, she must know something about how to treat him. It seems he's only gotten worse since being in our care. She must have done something to keep him alive this long. The clue to the puzzle is to find the girl, and all will be well. Do you understand?"

A slow smirk came onto Kisame's face, though he didn't understand in the slightest. The last thing he wished to do was piss his partner off any more. He nodded, already standing from his seat by the couch. "Crystal clear." He allowed a tinge of his confusion to seep onto his expression. "But how do we find her?" he asked.

Itachi didn't turn to face him, but he could feel the smile sliding onto his face. Something else unusual for the Uchiha survivor. A smile, no matter how sinister. "We don't. We let them find us."

* * *

Sakura awoke to feel air whisking by her face, the sound of quiet voices making its way to her ears. She grumbled, her eyes cracking open to take a glimpse of the night air around her, as well as the scenery rushing around her. But as far as she could tell, she wasn't the one moving. The voices around her ceased as if sensing that she was awake, and the fast air halted as well. She felt herself being lifted and then set down again, the rough surface of bark rubbing against her skin. She opened her eyes fully and allowed them to adjust to the world, rubbing them to clear them of their sleep. As she pulled his hands away, she saw the faces of Sai and Kakashi standing above her. Kakashi looked stern and even disappointed, his single visible eye boring into her. She flinched back, knowing she was in far more trouble than she could have possibly imagined.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Sakura," Kakashi said roughly. Sakura bit her lip roughly, looking away from him and Sai. She averted her eyes to the hem of the skirt she wore, nervously picking at it.

"I can," Sakura said quietly. Kakashi and Sai looked as if they were waiting for her to continue, but that was all she said.

"Well?" Kakashi asked impatiently. So far, he was the only one asking the questions. Sai was calmly listening, soaking up the voices around him.

Sakura swallowed. "I-I don't know where to start," she revealed quietly. Almost as if the words were a trigger, memories passed through her mind, coming in flashes. She remembered the Akatsuki members, the way they had come and killed... Her eyes squeezed tight, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Almost instinctively, her knees were pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped protectively around her.

Kakashi didn't seem to notice or care about her discomfort. "Why did you leave the village before the assigned time?" he asked as if he was interrogating a criminal.

Sakura looked up at him, her eyes wide. Was he stupid? Surely Kakashi was more clever than this. "He was going to kill Sasuke," she said quietly. The accusation was directed at Sai, but she didn't even offer a glance in his direction. "I had to find him first. Maybe if I could... maybe he would..." she stopped, shaking her head. "I was stupid."

Kakashi nodded. "Why bring Noboru along? Bait?" he asked, his tone accusatory. It took her a moment to realize who Kakashi was talking about. Noboru. The imposter. A pang of hurt shot across her chest as yet another memory popped into her head. The seconds before Itachi had revealed Noboru as what he truly was. A disguise. It took Sakura yet another moment to realize what Kakashi was asking. And when she did, she felt throwing up.

Bait? For Sasuke? She shook her head vigorously as if to dislodge the thought from her head. "No. _No. _Sasuke barely knew him. It would be pointless to-"

"It never crossed your mind to use Noboru to tire Sasuke out and then take him on yourself?" Sai asked finally. His voice was treacherous, blaming, as if he already knew what she'd done.

"_No!_" she nearly shouted. No, no, no. No, it had never crossed her mind. Not even once. To use that innocent trust to her own advantage just to get Sasuke back? Although she had to admit, since Sai had put the thought into her head, she was beginning to think how much of a good idea that would have been. _No!_

Kakashi cleared his throat. He knelt down on the branch beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He stared at her, his one visible eye sending daggers into her heart. "Sakura, what happened to Noboru? Where is he?" he asked. Was that a hint of pleading in his voice?

Sakura stared back at him, once again not knowing where to begin. Did she tell them about Noboru's true identity? And if she did that, how far back would she need to go? And even if she managed to go as far back as possible without rambling and confusing her teammates, she still didn't know all the details. She didn't know how he had kept himself a secret, how he had hidden himself among his peers without anyone knowing. But there was one thing she did know, something that made her chest feel like it was collapsing in on itself. She bit her lip, continuing to stare into her former teacher's eyes. Swallowing yet again, she cleared her thoughts and said the simplest thing that she could. "He's dead. Noboru's dead."

* * *

Kakashi's eyes grew wide at his former pupil's words. Dead? Noboru had died? He trued to remember the hotel room before they left, wanting to think if he'd seen signs of splattered blood other than the puddle beneath Sakura. Though he'd deduced at the room that the blood beneath the pink haired girl had not come from her body. Could it have been from Noboru? It had to, didn't it? They were the only ones in the room as far as he knew. It had to be Noboru's blood. But that didn't mean... it couldn't mean that... He hadn't lost another student had he? That would be the third of his students so far. What kind of teacher was he if he couldn't even keep his students alive? Dammit, he couldn't keep his _teammates_ alive! What good was he?

"Dead?" he questioned around the lump in his throat. He didn't want it to be true. Hated to face the fact that he was a failure as a leader. "Sakura, what happened?" he asked, and had to nearly physically restrain himself from grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking the answers out of her.

Sakura shook her head, and he became aware of the tears beginning to slide down her cheeks in the pale moonlight. Soon, she was sobbing almost hysterically, trying to speak around her tears. "H-He was s-sick," she began. "I came back, and he... he wouldn't wake up. A-And the Akatsuki came and-"

"The Akatsuki?" Kakashi asked, shock written across his face. What would they want with Noboru and Sakura, neither of very much importance to them?

Sakura nodded, hiccuping. "I-I think it was Itachi and Kisame. I read about them before for Tsunade-sama." Another hiccup. "They came and took him. I tried to hold them off but they... they..." She stopped, her body shaking. She grasped onto Kakashi for the safety she always felt around him, burying her face in his shirt. "They killed him Kakashi-sensei!" she nearly shouted, though her voice was muffled by the fabric. Kakashi could feel her tears soaking through the material, sighing. He was saddened by the news of the death of their newest member, but had no choice but to brush the grief off in opt of their mission. After that, Kakashi would pay his respects. But they still had Sasuke to find. Noboru could wait.

"We'll rest here for the night. It's getting too dark to even see a trail. Sai, set up camp. Sakura, wipe your eyes. Remember we're still on a mission. I'll take first watch. You two go rest for a while. I'll come get you, Sai, when it's your shift." It was obvious by his words that Sakura was meant to have the longest resting period of all of them. The two teens nodded and Sakura wiped her eyes while Sai went to find a suitable area for camp. When they were both gone, Kakashi settled against the trunk of the tree, sighing deeply.

_'Obito, where did I go wrong?'_ he thought. _'You would've been so much better at this...'_

_

* * *

_

**A/N **

**Thanks for reading! Really, I appreciate it. And sorry its so late! Again... -_-' Anyway, not going to bore you much with that anymore. Just, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, review. Please and Thank You.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**[Previously]**

_"But how do we find her?" he asked._

_Itachi didn't turn to face him, but he could feel the smile sliding onto his face. Something else unusual for the Uchiha survivor. A smile, no matter how sinister. "We don't. We let them find us."_

**XXX**

_'Obito, where did I go wrong?' he thought. 'You would've been so much better at this...'_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Fourteen**

Sakura stared at the fire in front of her, her arms wrapped around her legs. It had been hours since she had even blinked. Dark circles were beginning to form beneath her eyes. She was tired, and her mind was begging her to sleep. Just to close her eyes for a second, get some rest. But she had tried that before, a few hours ago. Nightmares had plagued her, memories of those seconds before Naruto was killed. Again. Or for the first time.

She shook her head. It was too confusing to try and figure out. Naruto had died three years ago. She had seen his body at the funeral and watched as his casket was lowered into his grave. She'd seen the reports made on him when he'd entered the the hospital after the fight with Sasuke and afterwards. She'd hoped to find an error that Tsunade had made, but everything had checked out impeccably. She'd been stupid to think otherwise. Tsunade was a professional, not some novice; no matter who it was that she was operating on. But just to make sure and ease her thoughts, she'd went down to the morgue to look at his cold face one more time. Or a few more times. It hadn't just been one trip. For a short while, she'd thought she was crazy, sitting down there and talking to a dead boy.

She shook her head again, wiping a stray tear from her face. But he couldn't have been dead. Not back then. Because Itachi had- But then... it could've very easily been a genjutsu. Had she looked into his eyes other than when he'd opened the door? How much of what she'd seen was reality? Was it all a dream? But then again, it would not explain what had happened to Noboru, or why he was missing. Unless Itachi had truly killed him, and had made her think he'd killed Naruto again? But... She dismissed the thought process. Too confusing.

She sniffled again. Suddenly, a hand made its way onto her shoulder and she jumped, whirling around. Sai stood in front of her, his hand still on her shoulder. He stared down at her, his facial expression blank though his touch was tender. Slowly, he pulled his hand away and sat down beside her, staring into the flames as well.

"You should sleep," he said suddenly. "It's getting late, and you'll need your strength to continue on with the mission."

The mission? Sakura almost laughed. What mission? Sasuke was gone to all of them. It was pointless. Naruto, one of the most capable boys she knew, couldn't get him back. Kakashi may have been stronger, but he'd never be able to get through to him. Any words he spoke would fall on deaf ears. She hadn't known it before, but the reason she had brought Noboru was because he shared a likeness with Naruto. Unknown to her, they were the same person. Maybe. She still hadn't decided on that little fact.

Sakura shook her head. "I can't," she mumbled, continuing to stare at the flames. Her first few hours or so into staring, she'd feared that the flames would make her go blind, like the sun. Or maybe the ashes from the burning wood would float up and find themselves in her unblinking eyes.

Sai turned to her. "It's very easy. Start by closing your eyes, slowing your breathing, and clearing your thoughts." He touched her shoulder again. "Not that hard, Sakura-San."

"No. I can't. I close my eyes and all I can see is him being killed, over and over again."

"Traumatizing, isn't it?" Sai asked softly. Sakura turned to him, a little shocked to hear the tender note in his voice. She bit her lip, nodding her head. Sai returned the gesture, continuing to stare at the fire. He seemed to guess she didn't want too much attention, and she appreciated that about him. It made her dislike him that much less, even maybe like him a bit. Her mouth curled up in what may have been a smile or what could have been a grimace as she allowed her eyes to drift to the flames as well.

She didn't bother answering his question, knowing there wasn't a good answer to give. Instead, she found her mouth opening in order for her to ask, "Have you ever witnessed a comrade die?"

To her surprised, she saw that Sai smiled out of the corner of her eye. Or what appeared to be a smile. It was the most sincere expression she had ever witnessed on his face, and made a look of shock flicker across her face.

"Countless times," her temporary teammate answered. "Replaceable teammates lost in battle. No one with any real significance. I was trained to move on, to not care either way." Sakura turned to look at him, and discovered he was no longer staring into the flame either. At some point, he had retrieved a small book and had it opened to what she thought was the middle. From what she could see, it had no words, only pictures. Drawings, actually, of a boy that she knew wasn't him. Curious, she opened her mouth to ask about the book, only to have Sai answer her question before she got the chance. "I had a brother once, the only person I truly cared about. We weren't related in the blood sense, but we were close to one another. We could depend on each other, I think. I would like to hope."

Sakura couldn't help but notice that Sai continued to speak in the past tense. Before she could stop herself, she found herself asking, "What happened to him?" Although, if she were truly honest, she was unsure if she wanted to know the answer. "Was he killed in battle?"

Sai's fingers traveled over the page as if remembering something, the smile still on his face. "I made this for him. I was going to give it to him as a present but..." he paused, turning the pages although it didn't look as if he was looking at the pictures. "He became ill and died before I got the chance."

Sakura bit her lip at his words, instantly feeling bad for the emotionless root member. She, at least, lost three important people and still had many more to love and care for. But Sai had lost his one and only important person, and it didn't seem as if he'd ever gained another one. Without thinking, she found her hand reaching over to grasp his, holding it in a comforting embrace. She was happy that, for once, she was the one offering comfort rather than taking it for herself.

To her surprise, Sai squeezed her hand, entwining their fingers. "I apologize for not being there to save Noboru-kun, Sakura-san." His words were gentle, but they stung Sakura as if she'd been struck. He could have been there. Kakashi could have been there, too. They could have had a chance against the Akatsuki, and Noboru could still be alive. But she chose to leave early, leaving her team behind in order to rescue a teammate who had deserted her twice. Again, because of her selfishness and stupidity, she'd lost another teammate. It was all her fault.

She might as well have killed them both herself.

* * *

Sasuke felt himself being thrown into a room, though he couldn't see where he was. His eyes were covered, his mouth gagged and his arms tied behind his back. He could only hear the laughter of Orochimaru and Kabuto as he fell to the cold floor, landing on his side. He hissed in pain, knowing Orochimaru had bruised one of his ribs in their fight. He had been smart not to critically injure him, but his wounds were painful nonetheless.

"Foolish child," the sannin hissed. Sasuke could tell from the sound of his voice that he was still standing in the doorway. He pictured him standing there, his body illuminated by the light from the hallway in the otherwise dark room. The only light that entered the chamber came from the single barred window where the moon's light shined.

There were footsteps coming towards him, and Sasuke felt himself tense. But he soon relaxed, realizing that it was not Orochimaru coming towards him, but Kabuto. He felt himself being grabbed and hoisted into a chair, his arms being painfully pulled over the back of the chair, his wrists still bound. He hissed in pain, feeling as if his shoulder was dislocated. Orochimaru hissed something at Kabuto, and he sounded irritated, but Sasuke barely listened. He was beginning to panic, feeling the awful taste of fear rising in his throat.

"Let me go, you bastards!" he shouted foolishly. It wasn't smart to insult someone when oneself was tied to a chair, vulnerable in every sense of the word. Especially when those someones could easily kill you without breaking a sweat. Perhaps not Kabuto, but Orochimaru for sure.

Orochimaru laughed then. It was a sickening sound to the young Uchiha. He should be dead. He should have been able to kill him. Why, then, was he still so weak! "Sasuke-kun, my foolish, foolish boy..." a sinister smile made its way onto his pale face, "did you honestly believe that you could kill me after such a short time? I created the curse mark, child. Why would you think you could use it against me?"

Suddenly Sasuke felt a blazing pain erupt from his shoulder, agonizingly torturing him. He screamed, the sound of weakness erupting from his lungs. It felt as if the air was leaving him, causing his chest to deflate painfully. He gasped, his fingers twitching behind the chair and his toes curling against the cold stone of the floor. Kabuto had shed him of his shoes when Orochimaru had inevitably beat him. Eventually, after a lapsed time that felt like forever, the pain ceased, replaced by a low throb in his shoulder.

"A-Asshole," he managed to stammer, words seeming to be a struggle to form. He was still shaking from the pain of his curse mark, his mind much rather to focus on that instead of his speech.

"Dear Sasuke-kun, don't use such language in front of me. It's _unbecoming_." The sannin laughed then, only to end in a rather horrible cough. It was no secret to anyone that Orochimaru's health was failing him. Exceedingly so. It was only a matter of time before he would need to take Sasuke's body as a replacement for his sannin straightened his spine, cutting his eyes at the young medic-nin in the room. "Kabuto, come with me," he ordered, already turning to leave the room. His words really translated as, _'Kabuto, I need my treatment._'

When they had left the room, Sasuke was trapped in the darkness of the space alone. The only company he had was himself and his eye. Naruto. Though it wasn't enough. He knew it was beginning to become not enough. His eye, his friend, wasn't what he craved. He began to realize that on his journey, and then in the few short days that he'd been living here. He was losing interest in Naruto the eye, craving Naruto the friend.

There was a sound near the window. A scuffling, as if something had landed on the stone that made the small opening. A bird maybe, Sasuke thought. But then whatever had landed on the window made its way into the room, landing on the floor. The thud that resonated because of the landing was far too loud to be a bird. A person maybe, but no bird. Sasuke tuned his ear, wondering who would be stupid enough to break into Orochimaru's own hideout. Even if the sannin himself didn't catch them, someone would. Kabuto, maybe. He seemed to always be the one capturing prisoners to put into another one of Orochimaru's cells.

"Sasuke, what happened to you?" the person asked, causing Sasuke to sit up straight in the chair. His eyes widened behind the blindfold, his heart thudding in his chest. He couldn't tell if it had started beating too fast that it appeared it had stopped, or if it was beating far too slowly for him to notice when the beats changed. He hoped that it was the former, because to have such a slow beating heart, despite the circumstances, could not be healthy. That voice was so familiar, however...

He turned his head towards where he'd last heard the person. "Who are you?"

There was an answering snort. Another familiar sound, from back in his days as a Konoha genin, a part of the original team seven. Instantly, a memory of the blond haired boy he once knew flashed across his mind. "Don't tell me you forgot about me already, teme. It hasn't been that long has it?" the voice asked again. He sounded exactly the same, if not a little older. There was a scuffling, as if he'd sat down on the cold stone floor.

Sasuke shook his head. "N-Naruto?" he asked, disbelieving.

* * *

Kurai and Naruto sat in silence for what seemed like eternity before Kurai stood, seeming to wipe the dampness of the ground from his pants. He stared across at Naruto, his eyes hard. His counterpart raised his eyebrows in confusion, not understanding where the other boy thought he was going. But when Kurai gestured for him to stand as well, he reluctantly obeyed.

"What?" he asked.

There was a look that flashed across Kurai's eyes. Naruto would have thought that it was kindness, but he quickly brushed the thought away. Of course it wasn't. He didn't call him "Kurai" for no reason, after all. His alter ego had made it perfectly clear that he was unable to feel any emotion even close to "kindness".

"You're weak," he said quietly. Naruto opened his mouth to interrupt with his usual loud words of protest, but Kurai stopped him with a raised hand. "You're also a disappointment and a failure. To Kyuubi and anyone who has ever believed in you."

Naruto looked annoyed. "Are you going somewhere with this?"

Kurai pretended not to have heard him. "You failed the chuunin exams. You died trying to fulfill a promise to your precious 'Sakura-chan', and ended up failing anyway. You failed to become hokage, like your promised all those people before. You failed to - "

"Shut _up!" _Naruto shouted, covering his ears. He didn't appreciate all of his failures being laid out for him in display. He had enough problems coming to terms with them. "You don't know what you're talking about! I fulfilled my promise to Sakura-chan! Sasuke came back to the village! I saw him! And - and I didn't die! Not really... I only... I only..."

"You only died," Kurai pointed out.

"Shut up!" Naruto repeated. He ached to make is counterpart be quiet, shouting out everything he'd been telling himself to console himself about his so-called failures. "And I will become Hokage someday!"

"Noboru might, at best. Though it doesn't seem likely. You, however, Naruto, are dead. At least, that's what the majority of Konoha believes."

"Shut - "

"Relax and follow me, dobe," Kurai mumbled, turning away from Naruto. "I wanna show you something."

"Why would I ever want to come with you?" Naruto asked, only to have Kurai send him another hard look. He held his ground however, causing his alter ego to turn back around and grab him, literally dragging him away. "W-Wait! Where are we going?" he asked frantically, suddenly nervous.

"I have things I want to show you. And then we can work on how much of a failure you are," Kurai explained.

"What...?"

"Kyuubi isn't going to remain prisoner inside of a cage as weak as you much longer, it seems." He turned to gauge Naruto's reaction, only to see confusion written there. He sighed, turning back around and continuing with the explanation. "He's already beginning to gauge your willpower. Which is why it wouldn't be wise for you to speak of killing yourself. One blip in your will, and he's making a run for it. And seeing as how weak you truly are, you're going to die whenever he decides to."

Naruto shook his head. "That's impossible. The seal keeps him locked up!" he protested.

Kurai nodded. "That would be the case. Except for the fact that the seal is weakening."

"Weakening...? But how?"

"The henge. It's mostly depending on the fox's chakra to endure itself. In order for that to happen, there needs to be a constant stream of Kyuubi's chakra passing through to you. And that constant stream is what's been weakening the seal. It's been going on for months, I think."

Naruto thought this over. The seal was weakening due to the henge he had to constantly uphold. And Kyuubi wanted a way out. So how...

"What do we do now?" he asked Kurai, staring ahead.

"There's no changing Kyubi's mind once he's made it up. He's going to try to escape at the first chance, whether you want him to or not. The best bet we have is to make you stronger before then. Mentally and physically. Understand?" Kurai asked, as if speaking to a toddler. Naruto nodded and Kurai accepted his affirmation, continuing down the dim hallway in silence.

Suddenly, Naruto quipped, "Where exactly are we going?"

Kurai turned around yet again, a smirk on his face. "We're going to work on that mental strength now. We're going to search through a few of our memories, Naruto-kun."

* * *

**A/N Meant to get a lot more done this chapter. Oh well. The dialogue was beginning to get a little forced anyway. **

**Comments, questions, or concerns? You know what to do. REVIEW! please?**

**Oh, AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**[Previously]**

_Suddenly, Naruto quipped, "Where exactly are we going?"_

_Kurai turned around yet again, a smirk on his face. "We're going to work on that mental strength now. We're going to search through a few of our memories, Naruto-kun."_

**XXX**

_Sasuke shook his head. "N-Naruto?" he asked, disbelieving._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Fifteen**

Hinata nearly collapsed upon realizing she reached the outskirts of the sand village. The only thing keeping her moving was the fact that she was the only one who had access to certain important information, and she couldn't afford to fail her task. She was determined to make it to Suna, knowing that their Kazekage was the only one who would even come close to understanding the situation. Tsunade-sama, as much as she respected her, was not an option to confide in. She was stubborn, and most likely wouldn't budge on the topic seeing as she was the one who had overseen the operation in the first place. She was the first to declare him dead, and should know what she was talking about. But she obviously hadn't, and she had evidence of the fact, even if it wasn't exactly solid evidence. However, the fact that Tsunade-sama _thought _she was right was what stopped her from going to her. At least Gaara-sama would understand a little bit of the situation. After all, coming back to life after having clearly been dead was just one other thing that he and Naruto had in common. She'd learned so after her team's mission to the Sand as a retrieval mission a few months before Noboru showed up.

However, as she leaned against one of the two earthy walls guarding the sand village, she wondered if she could go any farther. Simply getting here in the remarkable time she did had drained her chakra reserves significantly. If Sakura or Neji were here, they would have surely reprimanded her for overworking herself so much. It was something she often did months after Naruto's death, feeling as if she would be disappointing him if she didn't improve herself at all. Neji had even begun to start helping her train once he realized what she was up to every morning at the crack of dawn. Her father had begun to acknowledge her as well, though still refused to help her train, preferring her younger sister over her. But she was stronger and more confident than she ever felt before, though still tended to display shyness in situations that didn't call for combat.

She tried to move, just a little farther until she could get to the Kazakage's office. She needed to talk to Gaara about her discovery, and find a way to figure out what was going on with Naruto. Why did he come back to Konoha in a disguise? Why did he disappear for so long? What exactly happened after his battle with Sasuke? These were the majority of questions running through her mind, and they gave her a short amount of energy as she dragged one foot in front of the other, pushing herself forward. She kept thinking, _"Left, Right, Left, Right," _simply to keep her from focusing on her exhaustion and focusing on continuing to Gaara-sama.

However, a sudden pain flashed through her side, causing her to stagger. It was just enough to make her lose her concentration, and she stumbled before falling to the ground entirely. Sand flew up from the earth upon her impact, some of it getting in her eyes. She closed them as a reflex, which ended up proving to be a completely bad idea with her growing exhaustion. She felt herself passing out, the world around her fading slowly.

That last thing she heard before blacking out was, "Lady, are you okay?"

* * *

Sasuke waited for Naruto's reply, his heart rate still refusing to return to normal and his breath catching in his throat. He didn't even twitch a finger as he waited anxiously. There was a scuffling sound, and he felt the heat in the atmosphere around him grow slightly as Naruto came to stand in front of him. Hands reached behind him, grabbing the fabric which bound his eyes behind his head. A few minutes later, the tie was undone around his head, the cloth falling into his lap and enabling him to get the first glimpse at his former teammate.

He nearly gasped as he did. The boy hadn't changed a bit, including his age. He was still thirteen, it would seem, and he had the body of a thirteen year old to support the fact. His cheeks were still the chubby softness of youth, the immaturity of mischief dancing in his deep blue eyes. Looking at him now, Sasuke knew that if he could stand, the boy would probably come to his waist. But he looked exactly the same as he was when he last saw him, save for the absence of certain traits due to the major power that lived within him.

"N-Naruto," he repeated, his lips parted slightly in disbelief. His eyes were widened in shock as he stared, unable to believe the sight before him. It was impossible, to say the least. Naruto was dead. His eyes were physical proof of the fact. He wouldn't have been able to achieve them unless he killed his closest friend. Which was Naruto, as far as he knew.

"Jeez, Sasuke. I never remembered you being this senseless. I thought you were supposed to be a genius or something," the blond said with a snort. He even _sounded_ the same. How was this dobe able to evade time for so long? The Hokage would kill to learn his secrets.

"How...?" he whispered, not comprehending what was going on.

"How what, Sasuke?"

Sasuke blinked. It was impossible. Uzumaki Naruto was dead, plain and simple. He'd shoved his arm through his chest, had felt the blood pushing against it. He'd felt everything as his chidori pierced his lung. He was dead. But if that was true, who was this Naruto standing in front of him? An imposter, or a ghost coming to haunt him for his past? He always knew this day would come. It was preceded by nightmares of this very incident, months after Naruto's murder. "Stay away from me," he muttered, a shiver running down his spine.

Naruto looked curious. "What are you talking about, teme? What's the matter with you?"

"Stay away from me!" Sasuke said, a little louder. His voice quivered as he spoke, almost reached shouting levels. His heart began thudding louder in his chest, and he feared it would blow right out of his ribcage. Maybe that was what Naruto wanted. He didn't want to haunt him. He wanted him dead. What better form of revenge than to deal the same punishment that you yourself had to face?

"Sasuke-!"

"Leave me alone!"

* * *

Kurai led Naruto into a separate room that looked the same as the room they were just in, minus the bar at one end. It was completely empty save for the two of them and Naruto wondered what Kurai was thinking when he brought him here. If they were supposed to be searching through memories, where were the bookshelves of scrolls and things? If this was all that Kurai needed, they could have easily stayed in the other room.

But Kurai must have sensed his thoughts, which wouldn't be entirely unbelievable; they were the same person after all, and therefore shared one mind. "This is the part of our mind where our memories are kept. Everything from the very first memory. You'd be surprised when they start, actually. You probably forgot all about them, or had them repressed." A smirk slid onto his face, showing that he knew exactly why some memories would be repressed. "We'll start with the very first."

Before Naruto could tell what was happening, a blinding light flashed throughout the room, along with a gush of heavy wind.

* * *

_Naruto sat in the grass on top of a hill overlooking the ninja academy, no older than about two or three. He held a dandelion in his hands, blowing on it until all the seeds were gone. They fluttered off in the wind, free to do as they pleased, and Naruto smiled at their freedom. Picking up another, he repeated the action, the bright sun warming his arms. It was a good day outside today. The sky was clear after days of rain, and although the earth was still wet, he couldn't help but sit on the damp grass and smell the scent of rain that still lingered on the morning air._

_"Hey, move it kid," a rough voice demanded from above him. His eyebrows furrowed, looking up from his dandelion fun to stare at the boy in front of him. He was a lot older than him, and bigger. He may have been around six years old. Naruto frowned, blowing on the last dandelion he picked up, planning to get up and move somewhere else. He'd learned that when someone told him to do something and he didn't, they got mad. But before he had a chance to stand, the bigger boy grabbed him by his shoulders and forced him up._

_"Didn't you hear me?" the kid barked._

_Naruto nodded. "I just wanted-"_

_The kid pushed him down, despite being the one to pick him up in the first place. Naruto winced, his arm scraping against a tree as he fell. He felt the sting of his minor wound, knowing he'd need to get a band-aid when he got home. He stared up at the bully before getting on his knees and then shakily on his feet. He held his injured arm, his eyes welled up with tears. "I'm going home," he muttered, and turned to walk away._

_The bully snickered. "Lemme help you," He grabbed Naruto's arm and shoved him harder than before, causing him to stumble and roll down the hill. It probably wouldn't have hurt if he'd been expecting it, but he hadn't. His face filled with dirt and grass as he rolled, finally landing in a heap at the bottom of the hill. The dew from the grass stuck to his face, and his whole body ached from having been shoved. He whimpered, now wanting to go home more than ever, but the sound only attracted the attention of a few passing adults. They stopped what they were doing and looked at him, some of them smiling at the fact that he was hurt. Some even laughed at him. He frowned, his face reddening in embarrassment. But that only caused more laughter and even name calling, causing silent tears to slide down his face._

_

* * *

_

Naruto's fists clenched at his sides but loosened shortly after. "I don't even... remember that," he muttered, his brows furrowed.

Kurai nodded, his face grim. A shadow had slid over his features. "You wouldn't, even if it was a normal memory. You were three. Not old enough to remember that, even if it wasn't repressed." He smiled, the gesture not reaching his eyes. "On to the next one, shall we?"

* * *

Hinata stirred, her body sore and her mouth dry. She felt weak, barely able to sit up on her own. She groaned, her throat sore from thirst. Had it really been that long since she'd had something to drink? She tried to remember, but her mind was foggy.

"Here, drink this," a voice commanded of her. Slightly surprised that there was someone else in the room, she took the cup that was handed to her and pressed it to her lips. The cool water inside cooled the inside of her mouth, wetting her dry tongue and throat. Satisfied once the water was gone, she set the cup on a table beside her, sitting up completely and looking around.

"Where am I?" she asked, then winced. Her voice was still raspy.

"The hospital. You passed out outside of the entrance. You were suffering from exhaustion and near chakra depletion." Hinata looked up finally, allowing her gaze to travel over the speaker. He stared back at her with hard, dark brown eyes. His hair was wild, its length coming down over his ears. He reached up to brush it out of his eyes, revealing a sand head band. "Are you from Konoha? I saw your headband and-"

"I-I need to see Gaara-sama," Hinata interrupted, suddenly remembering her mission at the sight of the boy's headband. She tried to get up, but the young ninja held her down, his face suddenly anxious.

"You, well, you can't. He's in a conference with the elders about pressing matters." The boy looked sheepish. "I was told to look after you until you recovered. What was so important that you risked death to get here so fast? Is all well with Konoha?" he asked, appearing concerned.

Hinata nodded, relaxing back into the comfort of the bed. All her earlier bravado had disappeared, replaced with her normal self. What was she doing here? Did she really expect an audience with the Kazekage so easily? That she could just come into the village and immediately tell him that Naruto wasn't dead. That he was very much alive and somewhere off on a mission at this very second? She sighed, closing her eyes. She was suddenly very tired again.

"Miss?"

She opened her eyes again, staring at the boy. She forgot that he'd asked her a question. "O-Oh. I um..." How exactly did you go on explaining something like this? "I'm on... a mission." Now whether or not that mission was authorized was her business.

The boy blinked. "Oh. Well, it must be pretty important." He held out a hand to her. "I'm Daishi."

She ignored the hand. "Hinata." She closed her eyes again, sinking into the blankets and planning to submit to her exhaustion. Hopefully the curious boy would leave her to sleep. And when she awoke, the kazekage would hopefully be free to speak with her and they could... what exactly?

Her eyes snapped open again. What would she do then? What if she told Gaara that Naruto was alive? Would they simply jump off to go find him? What if he didn't want to be discovered? What if he knew of a threat that only his hiding could prevent? What if this wasn't such a good idea? She should have thought this through more fully before acting so rash.

Hinata felt nauseous. But she was here now and there wasn't much she could do about it. She could leave, but by now the trouble that would be facing her back home would be blistering. The least she could do was speak to the Kazekage like she planned, and hope she was doing the right thing.

* * *

Sakura couldn't sleep. She didn't want to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes of her teammates. It wasn't just Noboru anymore. It was Naruto at his funeral, and Sasuke the night he tried to leave the first time. She saw the original team seven, the day they took their team photo together. In fact, that's what lay beside her now, covered in dots of tears. Most of them covered Sasuke's face, though a few managed to dot Naruto's as well. And even Kakashi and hers.

Sai had went to bed a long time ago. She'd said she'd keep watch, and she would. She wouldn't fail her team anymore because of her ignorance. But it was hard to pay attention when grief struck her so hard. She was still dealing with Noboru's death and seeing him unveiled as Naruto before her eyes. She may need counseling when they got back to the village. She knew that Tsunade and Kakashi would insist. And possibly even Ino. Sakura had managed to dodge it the first time, but she had a feeling that this time she wouldn't be so lucky.

She sighed into the night, closing her eyes for an instant. She wasn't tired, but she was exhausted. Incredibly so.

There was a sound to her left and she snapped up, instantly alert and holding a kunai in her hand. Her eyes narrowed, searching the area. There was a ruffling in the brush. She threw the kunai in that general direction, simply to bring out whatever was hiding there. It could have been a harmless rabbit, but she was a little on edge.

Unfortunately, there was a pretty big chance that it wasn't a rabbit. A deep laugh sounded, incredibly dark. She recognized the sound and instantly through another kunai, now more accurate with her targeting. There was another laugh and a foot stepped out from behind the brush, followed by another. Itachi emerged soon after, both kunai in his hands. A small smile was on his face, though Sakura found nothing amusing.

"What are you doing here?" she barked. She instantly thought of waking up Kakashi and Sai. It would be the smart thing to do. She'd made enough mistakes. Besides, although she hadn't known it before, she realized with a shock that she wanted to extract revenge on this man. If it hadn't been for him, her life and her team would not feel so desolate.

Itachi held up a hand, still holding the weapon from before. Sakura tensed, but he lowered it without so much as a threat. "Relax. I have no desire to fight you."

Sakura growled. "That's fortunate. Easier for me to kill you," she replied. She whipped yet another kunai from her pack, throwing it only to have Itachi dodge it with the twitch of his head. It didn't even skin him. She gasped but her expression soon harden, charging at the man with a chakra fueled fist.

He grabbed it, successfully halting the attack. "I only wish to speak with you."

Sakura pulled on her wrist, hoping to free herself with no luck. She grunted, wishing she had woken up Sai and Kakashi earlier. "About?" she asked, closing her eyes in case he wished to cast a genjutsu on her.

"Your friend."

Her eyes snapped open for a second, the anger returning. "You have no right to-"

"He's alive."

Sakura hesitated. "W-What?"

Itachi released her and Sakura jumped back, rubbing her sore wrist. "Your friend is alive. And I know where he is."

"Why would you tell me that?"

Itachi chuckled. "A sudden burst of generosity." He looked towards the camp, where he must have known that Sai and Kakashi were sleeping. "I'll bring you to him if you would like me to." He held out a hand.

Sakura frowned. "You could easily be trapping me."

"Or you could be the death of your friend." At what must have been Sakura's quizzical expression, he explained. "He's ill. Terminally. We know that you were taking care of him and may know how to heal his sickness. We need him alive, and you wish to keep him that way. We could compromise."

Sakura shook her head. "I couldn't..."

"You could be the key that keeps him alive. Isn't that what you want, Sakura-san? Because without you, the boy will die. And it will be entirely your fault."

Again, Sakura hesitated. What more did she need to think about? The decision was almost too easy. "I need to pack a few supplies."

"Naturally."

Sakura disappeared into a tent she shared with Sai, reappearing moments later. She swallowed. "After you."

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. If I'm honest, I forgot about it entirely. You can thank Black Rose Princess for the update.  
**

**Anyway, Here you go. Enjoy this latest installment. Comments, Questions, or Concerns? REVIEW!  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**[Previously]**

_Sakura disappeared into a tent she shared with Sai, reappearing moments later. She swallowed. "After you."_

**XXX**

_Kurai nodded, his face grim. He smiled, the gesture not reaching his eyes. "On to the next one, shall we?"_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Sixteen**

Naruto staggered, his knees weak. Hot tears slid down his face, a hand grasping at the shirt on his chest. He held back a sob, his eyes clenched shut. "P-Please. No more. Please," he begged. The memories from his childhood, despite being his own, were too much to relive at one time. They were so painful they almost physically hurt him. As each one flashed, he felt as if he was feeling the pain again, getting worse as the memories and his age progressed.

Kurai shook his head. He looked disappointed. "Get up. Enough of your bawling. We're almost done. Get up," he commanded, nudging Naruto with his shoe. This was the second time Kurai had to almost force his alter ego to keep going. The 'pep talks' were becoming a nuisance, and he was starting to get annoyed. He'd never known Naruto to act so cowardly before.

Naruto shook his head. "Please. No more."

Kurai sighed, kicking Naruto harder. The other boy rolled onto his stomach, the tears still falling from his eyes. "No!" he refused.

Kurai knelt down beside him, rolling him on his back so he could effectively glare at him. "Listen, it can't get any worse. You already know what to expect. Just take it like a man." But Naruto continued to shake his head. Kurai sighed again, getting up. Naruto didn't exactly have much of a choice in the matter anyway. The best he could do was just keep them coming.

"Next."

* * *

_Naruto slowly got up from the pile of rubble that Sasuke had punched him into. Rocks fell from the newly created crater as he crawled out of it. Whatever had just happened, he couldn't even explain. The only thing he was sure of, was that Sasuke had undergone a serious change. He wasn't even recognizable anymore._

_"It looks like neither of us have time to fool around," Sasuke spoke. He smirked a smirk that sent shivers down Naruto's spine. He pressed his hands together to do a series of hand signs. **"Chidori!" **_

_Naruto wasted no time. It was one thing that he couldn't afford to lose at the moment. Time. Sasuke was out to kill him, and he refused to let that happen. **"Rasengan!"**_

_The separate techniques glowed in their hands. Each one appeared more sinister than before, as a result of their new transformations. Silently, the only sound coming from the two whirling techniques, they launched themselves into the air. They aimed their techniques at one another, making the other their target. As they drew closer, they prepared themselves for impact._

_Soon, the Rasengan and the Chidori met in the middle of their creators. They clashed, each trying to gain the upper hand over the other. While the battle raged, the creators stared at each other. Sasuke's eyes radiated hatred and the purpose to win. Naruto's only displayed determination._

_**"Rasengan!"**_

_**"Chidori!"**_

_**SPLAT!**_

_**SCRATCH!**_

_**

* * *

**_

"**NO!**" Naruto roared, snapping out of the flashback. His body shook as if he was cold. His eyes formed slits, the pupils red as blood. The atmosphere around him shook and twisted, swirling as if it was possessed by another spirit. The nails on his fingers grew, sharpening into claws.

Kurai's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Impossible," he muttered. Naruto roared again and he shook his head to clear his thoughts. In a swift movement, he leaped at his counterpart, successful in tackling him to the ground. Covering his body with his, he fought to calm the beast of a boy roaring beneath him. His skin stung as Naruto lashed out at him, scratching him with his claws, but he continued to hold on to him. He tried to soothe him, murmuring calming words as Naruto thrashed and fought, trying to break free.

_'What could have possibly made him freak out?' _Kurai asked himself. He moved his head to dodge one of Naruto's fangs, only to catch a claw on the side of his head. He bit back a shout, not wanting to alert Naruto further. Blood seeped from the cut on his head, dripping down his forehead in lines, cracking his face with color. "Dammit! Relax, you idiot!" He used his arms to forcefully flip him on his stomach, trapping his hands behind his back. Holding them with one hand, he used another to roughly mush his face into the ground. "You don't have to watch anymore, I promise! Just stop acting like such a freak!"

Like a storm calming, the thrashing slowly decreased until Naruto was simply shaking on the ground, humming softly. His eyes closed, he ceased trying to struggle, completely calm. "Promise?" he asked. His voice was that of a child, innocent and vulnerable.

Slightly surprised but not willing to show it in fear of setting off the boy again, Kurai nodded slightly. "Y-Yeah. Promise," he guaranteed. He let go of Naruto slowly, easing the hold on him until he was completely released. It took a moment for Naruto to get up, but he eventually sat up, wiping water from his eyes and cheeks. Kurai waited, watching with a stony expression until he was finished.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

Naruto swallowed, staring blankly off into space. Kurai once again waited until finally, the other blond nodded.

"I don't want to do it anymore," he choked. Kurai sighed, pulling him to him and into what could only be described as a hug. Though it didn't look comforting. He was barely holding him, and he was looking away as if he would rather not be touching him at all. Naruto wasn't hugging him back, nor did he even look as if he noticed that his arms were around him.

"You don't have to anymore. I promise, remember?"

Naruto nodded, the last of his muscles finally relaxing. Kurai let out yet another sigh, though this one was of relief. Before his eyes, Naruto's claws retracted to their normal size, the darkness surrounding him beginning to dissolve.

Kurai shook his head, knowing it was best to continue with something else.

* * *

Sasuke glowered at Naruto, his eyes crazed and sweat beading on his forehead. Naruto had stopped trying to advance on him, but he was sure it was just a plot to get him to let his guard down. Then he would just kill him when his back was turned. But there was something about the blonde and this situation that confused him.

"How did you get out of my eye," he asked shakily.

Naruto looked confused. "Your... eye?"

He nodded, swallowing the saliva that was building up in his mouth. "My eye, dobe. I killed you. You were in my eye. How did you get out," he stammered. He met Naruto's thoughtful blue eyes, his own black ones clearly confused.

Naruto's lips formed an "O" shape. He smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Sasuke, you're pretty stupid now. I couldn't be in your eye if I'm standing here, right? And you couldn't have killed me, either." The blonde looked sympathetic. "Sasuke, I'm okay. Look at me."

The raven haired boy's eyebrows furrowed above his eyes. "Y-you're... okay? I didn't..."

The blonde shook his head, his smile turning soft. "No. You didn't kill me. I'm okay."

A nearly silent sob of relief left Sasuke's mouth, his body sagging along with it. A single tear slid down his cheek and Naruto wiped it away, pressing his palm to Sasuke's cheek. As if on instinct, the young Uchiha leaned into his cheek, his eyes closing in serenity.

"You're okay. I didn't kill you."

* * *

Kabuto leaned over Sasuke's shaking body, watching in disgust as a glob of drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. He was completely still, save for the twitching of the boy's hand at his side. He could have been sleeping, save for the fact that his eyes were almost wide open.

"He's gone into shock," he said calmly, standing up to face Orochimaru. After walking by the room in order to make sure the boy was okay, he'd heard the sound of the chair crashing to the floor. Walking in, he was welcomed by the sight of the Uchiha, his body shaking on the ground. After calling his name and getting no response, he'd quickly assessed the situation and called upon Orochimaru to see what to do about it.

Needless to say, the snake sannin didn't seem happy. "That boy is proving to be nothing but trouble," he said with a frown. It looked particularly cruel on his lips.

"What do you want me to do, Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked for the umpteenth time.

The sannin shrugged. "Do a further diagnosis. If he's truly unfit to be my new body, dispose of him. There is always another Uchiha that will suffice."

Kabuto swallowed, shaking his head. "You failed at that once, Orochimaru-sama. I don't think-" He was interrupted as a quick hand whipped across his face, the sting resulting from the strike hurting more and longer than the actual hit did. He held his face, understanding the message without his master having to say anything. Stay out of his affairs; do as he was told. "Y-Yes Orochimaru-sama."

* * *

Kisame didn't know what to do. In an instant, things had turned a toll for the worse. The Kyuubi brat's fever had raised in temperature to the point that his skin had turned red. His fingers clawed in his sleep, the only movement he'd made since being taken from the hotel room. He began to sweat and whimper as he writhed, and Kisame hurried to put a wet cloth on the boy's head. Even if it was nice and cool when he gave it to him, it produced steam within seconds of touching his forehead. Kisame wondered how someone could survive a fever this great, questioning why it hadn't already burned him out. He took the now-heated cloth and rung it out, placing it in cold water before placing it on Naruto's head again. Then he found a bucket lying by the door and filled it with the fresh liquid, using another cloth to wipe the boy down with the icy water.

Without warning, his temperature dropped, his skin going pale. Which wasn't entirely bad, since his skin was pale before the heightened temperature as well. His face brought on a peaceful calm, serenity falling over his features. He shivered from the icy water, but Kisame refused to take chances on this brat. If he died, years of prepping and planning would be ruined for their organization. He needed the Kyuubi alive, simultaneously needing the brat alive as well. He dipped the rag in water again, placing it on his skin.

* * *

"How far away is it?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence that had hung over her and her despised enemy. It took all the power inside of her not to try a surprise attack on the older Uchiha. But he was the only chance she had of seeing Noboru again. Of making him okay. She loathed the regrets that plagued her night and day, and if she could just make this one thing right and protect her friend...

"Not much farther. Maybe a few hour's travel from here," Itachi called from ahead of her. He was speeding so quickly that she wondered if he was just as eager to save Noboru-kun as she was. Then again, he probably was. His mission was on the line, and he needed Naruto alive to complete it, she assumed.

Nodding, she touched a branch as she passed, her chakra escaping to carve something in its trunk, the action going unnoticed by her escort.

* * *

Sai sat up, his fingers holding onto the hastily scribbled note he'd found in his tent. He'd awoken to the smell of something burning, only to realize with a start that it was a drawing he'd been working on since leaving Konoha. He'd hastily got up to put it out, successfully saving the most of his artwork. Sighing in what could only be described as Sai's version of relief, he went to put it back down when something caught his eye. Gingerly, his fingers gripped the torn piece of paper, not recognizing the handwriting.

_Sai,_

_I can't explain all of the details, but there has been yet another change of plans. Uchiha Itachi approached me this morning. He knows where Noboru is. Back-up will be needed. I set the flame to ignite twenty minutes after I leave the tent. Wake up Kakashi sensei and follow the signs I've left you toward Naruto and I. I'm not leaving you two behind this time, I promise._

_Sakura._

Sai nodded, tucking the note into his back pocket as he quickly gathered up his things. He then walked to Kakashi's tent, already seeing him awake and packing. He gave a questioning look, waiting for Kakashi to explain the early rising. He had suggested rest was good for them, and had offered to sleep in a little later this morning in order to rejuvenate themselves.

He looked up quickly from packing up supplies in his bag. "I smelled the smoke and woke up to realize Sakura was gone. I was just on my way to wake you."

Wordlessly, Sai handed Kakashi the note and stepped out of the tent, going to pack up the rest of their camp and make it seem as if they'd never been there.

* * *

**A/N WOO! Late, but still earlier than usual.**

**I added a bit of Sasuke and Naruto sweetness, even though this is STILL A NARUSAKU STORY! We'll be getting to the actual NaruSaku shortly, for those of you who are growing impatient with me. **

**Anyway, here's your chapter and I hope you enjoy. Any comments, questions, or concerns, please REVIEW.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**[Previously]**

_Kurai shook his head, knowing it was best to continue with something else._

**XXX**

_Nodding, she touched a branch as she passed, her chakra escaping to carve something in its trunk, the action going unnoticed by her escort._

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Sakura dropped down beside Itachi in front of a rundown looking cottage. It had green, spongy moss growing out of every crevice, and the wood seemed to be rotting. Though she didn't know why she acted as if she expected a fancy looking hotel with warm bath water. These were criminals, and they were in the middle of the woods near who-knows-where. She was lucky they even had this.

"Where is he?" she immediately asked her escort. She needed to find Noboru, or Naruto, or whoever that blonde boy was. She needed to make up for endangering his life this way, probably by saving it. And that meant not wasting time on this psychotic Uchiha murderer.

Itachi didn't answer. He simply gestured towards the cottage before walking inside. The rotting door closed behind him, though it was so feeble and rotted that Sakura wondered how it didn't simply just break when he touched it. She swallowed, wondering if this was wise. What if Itachi was lying, and her friend was already dead? They could be leading her into a trap. But then again, why go to so much trouble just to dispose of her? She wasn't Sasuke nor was she Naruto. They had nothing to gain from her death other than a simple satisfaction. She swallowed, deciding waiting outside wasn't going to give her answers. Though she gripped her kunai in her right hand, holding onto her pack with the other as she walked inside.

The room she walked into was dim, the only light coming from the sun seeping through the windows. Dust particles swam around the room and she almost grimaced at the poor conditions. Her eyes continued to scan the room until they landed on an unconscious boy laying slumped on a dusty looking couch. Tan skin, golden hair, faded whisker marks on his cheek. She inhaled sharply, her mind trying to process this sight in front of her. Kisame was wiping his face, a bucket of cool water beside him. Before Sakura knew what she was doing, she was beside him, yanking the cloth from his hand. Kisame grimaced, jumping up, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Itachi calmly walked between the two of them, simply standing there with his hands at his sides.

"There's no time for this. Let the girl work. She's the medic," he said, casually. Kisame sighed and released the sword, Sakura, taking a step back. Still, Itachi refused to move. The rosette swallowed yet again, dropping down beside her unconscious friend. Her hands reached up to touch her face, lightly grazing over his pale cheeks and yellow brows. Tears began to well in her eyes, the rapid rhythm of a heartbeat making its way up to her ears.

"Naruto," she choked out breathlessly. She forgot that the two criminals were even in the room. She hadn't even noticed when a silent tear made its way down her face, dripping down her chin to land on the cloak covering him.

* * *

Hinata sat in front of the Kazekage, finger twiddling as he stared at her. They'd been there for nearly ten minutes and the most conversation that had passed between the two of them were polite greetings. Gaara obviously wasn't much of a conversationalist, but he spoke first just to get the meeting going.

"Uchiha Sasuke... he has left Konoha again," he began slowly, staring at her. By the look on his face, he was simply trying to gauge what the meeting was about.

Hinata squeaked, getting his meaning instantly. "Um n-no. I mean yes. He.. has. But that's not what... I-I'm here for," she said quietly. She took a deep breath. This was no time for quiet mumblings and squeaks. She has a job to do. A mission to carry out, no mater how self-appointed said mission was. She sat up straighter, clearing her throat and hoping that her words came out stronger. "I'm here because I have substantial evidence concerning Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara tensed behind his desk. If Hiana didn't have trained eyes, she would have easily missed the slight reaction to the deceased shinobi's name. Anyone could see that Gaara had held high respect for Naruto, maybe even a sort of compassion. It was well-known throughout the ninja world that Gaara had dropped everything to attend the Uzumaki boy's funeral in Konoha, much to his adviser's distress.

Gaara sat up just a little straighter, Hinata now feeling that she had his full attention. He cleared his throat. "I was to believe that all evidence concerning the murder of Uzumaki Naruto was already investigated within days of his death," he said formally. Hinata was the one to tense this time. She clearly understood the jab Gaara was insinuating. He had never been happy with Konoha's decision to let Uchiha Sasuke go relatively unpunished for leaving Konoha and killing his own teammate.

Hinata nodded. "Y-Yes that was the case," she began. "But recently Konoha has received a new genin in its ranks, Yamamoto Noboru. At first, his personality was insufferable and he was a major deterrent to his team's ability to work together on missions. He showed particular hostility toward Uchiha Sasuke." She licked her lips, sitting up a little straighter to make herself more comfortable in the chair. "However he slowly began to soften his personality, taking on a likeness to Uzumaki. He showed a compassion toward his teammate, Haruno Sakura, making it his personal mission to protect her even in the most simple of ways. Not unlike Uzumaki Naruto." She swallowed. "Recently I took it upon myself to independently research the similarities and differences between Noboru and Naruto. Using Hokage records I was able to uncover items that were forgotten after the death of Uzumaki Naruto and that I believe were simply skimmed during the interrogation of Yamamoto Noboru." She stood, pulling the file from the pack she retrieved after being released from Suna's recovery unit. She set it on the desk, opening it and revealing two documents belonging to two different Genin. Hinata pointed at the area labeled Date of Birth. "Noboru stated that he was born November eleventh. Exactly one month and a day after Naruto."

Gaara didn't look impressed. "I'm sorry, but I don't see the-"

Hinata shook her head, obviously not listening. She shuffled through the papers further, quickly looking for more documentation. The last thing she wanted was for Gaara to write her off. She felt he was her only hope of someone believing her. Anyone else would think she was insane.

"Hinata-sa-"

She slammed another piece of paper toward him, this one belonging just to Uzumaki Naruto. "Shadow clones. Naruto's specialty. Noboru listed it as his own, as well. He's just a genin, he shouldn't be able to-"

Gaara stood, stopping her words. His dark rimmed eyes stared at her, capturing her own pale gaze and freezing her frantic movements. In a quick sweep of his hand, the documents and the file they came in were swept into the waste basket beside his desk. Hinata gasped, but still he held her gaze.

They stood in silence for a moment, Gaara glaring and Hinata feeling close to tears. She knew the chances of him believing her were close to none. But she had hoped...

"Naruto is dead," Gaara said slowly. Hinata closed her eyes, not wanting to hear his dismissal of her. Nevertheless, Gaara continued as if she was paying the utmost attention to him. "I saw Naruto myself. And so did you. The things you see in Noboru are just coincidences. He shares a likeness to Naruto, I admit. But that is all. I understand that you miss him, but you're jumping to conclusions. Wild conclusions."

Hinata shook her head. She knew what she was talking about. She wasn't insane. She wasn't-

"You are invited to stay in the village as long as you would like. But I will be informing the Hokage that you are here and safe and sound." He watched her warily. "Is there anything else you need?" Hinata licked suddenly dry lips, shaking her head. Gaara nodded. "Then I appreciate your time." He gestured to the door.

Hinata swallowed slowly, a lump caught in her throat. A headache was beginning to pulse between her temples. She nodded numbly and turned on her heels, walking silently to the door. She didn't even bother to gather her resources from the trash. There was no point when there wasn't even a drop of hope anymore. Maybe Gaara was even right. Perhaps she _had_ jumped to wild conclusions in her desperation to see Naruto again.

* * *

Kakashi didn't know how to feel. Upset? At least that was what was winning out at the moment. He did not like the fact that Sakura had once again taken it upon herself to go ahead without them. Even though this time she had at least left them a note of there whereabouts. And she wanted them to follow her. Though who knew if she was already in trouble? Maybe that twenty minute gap she'd given herself was too much time. She had no idea where she was going. By now, Itachi could have already disposed of her.

Kakashi cursed. If only he had insisted on taking the final watch...

"I'm sure that Sakura-san is fine, Kakashi," Sai broke into his thoughts. Kakashi turned to stare at the younger shinobi, who continued to stare ahead.

"I'm not worried about her," he lied, his face a mask of determination. He shouldn't be worried about her. Sakura was a smart girl. He could count on her to take care of herself.

Sai nodded. "I'm sure that you are. But if you wish to believe otherwise, I cannot stop you," he replied.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, glaring ahead. He picked up the pace, his blood fizzing. "Faster," he ordered.

* * *

**A/N **I know its short. Forgive me. And I know it took me forever to write it. Again, forgive me. I simply hope you enjoyed it. Comments, Questions, or Concerns? REVIEW!


	18. Chapter 18

**[Previously]**

_"Naruto," she choked out breathlessly. She forgot that the two criminals were even in the room. She hadn't even noticed when a silent tear made its way down her face, dripping down her chin to land on the cloak covering him. _

**XXX**

_Kakashi narrowed his eyes, glaring ahead. He picked up the pace, his blood fizzing. "Faster," he ordered. _

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Naruto felt a wave of... something come over him. It wasn't exactly painful, nor did it bring him any amount of pleasure. He didn't like the feeling, nor did he dislike it. It wasn't physical, nor was it mental or emotional. Still, he felt himself pausing as the feeling swept over his body and face, coursing through each pore and follicle.

"Naruto?" Kurai called to him from across the... space. But Naruto ignored him, waiting for the feeling to leave so he could further diagnose how he felt about it. Or at least he was hoping to zone in on the way it felt. His blood fizzed, but it wasn't from anger. It made his skin prickle, but it didn't hurt or tickle. He swallowed, closing his eyes, inhaling a breath that didn't satisfy him nor dissatisfy him. "Naruto?" Kurai called again, only to be further ignored. Naruto swallowed, sitting down on the damp ground as his mind buzzed along with his fizzing blood. It felt like bees were building a hive in his system. "Naruto!" By the sound of Kurai's voice, he was growing impatient with him. But Naruto's hearing was fading anyway, the buzzing making its way into his eardrums. All he heard was a fizzing... buzzing sound, amplified like it was right beside his ear. He didn't bother opening his eyes, fearing he would see snow i front of them instead of his alter ego. He hadn't even realized he was rocking back and forth until Kurai's hands were on him and the movement suddenly stopped.

"Naruto, what's wrong. Are you hurting?" Kurai asked, his voice filled with concern. The other blond shook his head. It didn't hurt. It didn't. He licked his lips, trying to gain control of his senses. His skin prickled harder, the blood fizzing so much he feared the bubbles were popping heatedly in his veins. This was discomfort, but not pain. His fingers twitched, his knees banging against each other in the effort to move. He needed movement. His teeth clenched, his fingers curling into fists. Discomfort. Aching discomfort. He drew in a ragged breath, the spit on his tongue tasting like pop rocks. He squeezed his eyes tighter. Every inch of his being was...was...

"It hurts!" Naruto screamed.

* * *

Sakura jumped at the scream that seemed to rip out of Naruto's throat, torn from his very soul and being. Even the two akatsuki in the room seemed disturbed by the sound. Sakura's first inclination was to accuse the Akatsuki members for her friend's obvious pain. Maybe this was a trap and they only wished to lure her her, poisoning Naruto beforehand so her medical chakra would hurt him instead of heal him. She still had no idea what the criminal organization wanted with her dear teammate. It was very possible that they were looking for some sort of item that they thought Naruto had, but discovered he didn't, and simply assumed Sakura was in possession of it instead. It all made complete sense, and explained why Itachi had sought her out with so tempting an offer. But sparing one look at the members erased all of her recent ideas. The looks on their faces were almost of shock, also confused by Naruto's reaction.

"He hasn't spoken at all since we captured him. He hasn't even awakened. We assumed that he was comatose," Itachi murmured, taking a step towards the pair. Apparently his curiosity was getting the best of him and would have cost him his hand if he hadn't seen Sakura's fingers twitch for her kunai. As the metallic knife flew through the air towards his wrist, most likely in an effort to amputate it, he twitched his hand slightly, causing the knife to soar past it and embed itself into the wall. Nevertheless, he got the message and took a few steps back, putting a significant amount of distance between the bear and her cub.

Sakura shot Itachi a warning glance before her eyes darted back to her charge. His fingers twitched and his mouth moved as if he wished to scream again but just couldn't find the will. He looked as if he was trapped in a nightmare and was suffering greatly because of it. Still, his eyes remained shut and he didn't show any signs of that changing.

"Naruto?" she whispered, moving him so his head laid in her lap. She stroked the sweaty tendrils of hair from his damp forehead, feeling his body shake. She couldn't tell if it was from a sudden chill or if he was in that much pain.

Naruto's mouth moved again, but then a miracle happened. He spoke. "Sa-Sakura," he moaned quietly. Had she not been paying so close attention to her charge, she was sure she would've missed it.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, a little more urgently. The blonde's eyes opened, just slits at first, and the rosette kunoichi was captivated as they fully opened. Her teammate seemed confused, but slowly he began to get his bearings.

"Sakura-chan," he mumbled. "Where are we? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

Sakura wiped the heated tears from her cheeks. She hadn't even realized that she'd started to cry. Usually when she felt a strong emotion she had time to analyze it before she began to cry. But this had happened so suddenly. It was shocking. But it was also stupid and dangerous. She shouldn't have allowed herself to get so worked up now. This was technically still a mission. Not to mention the Akatsuki brutes standing but a few feet away. No doubt they were already contemplating how to use this weakness against her.

She swallowed and fought to regain her composure. She turned her expression hard. "Naruto-kun, are _you _alright?" she asked gently. Naruto looked shocked for a moment, looking around. Probably searching for a mirror to check if his little disguise was still there. It made Sakura want to hit him. That she was so worried for him and all he cared about was hiding his identity from her like some kind of masked vigilante.

"I'm fine Sakura-chan. Why wouldn't I-?" His words were cut off by a gasp and a hiss. He doubled over, his hand falling over his stomach. His eyes squeezed shut in what Sakura could only assume was pain. She instantly took control, uncurling his body and laying him flat on the floor, holding him down with one arm. She lifted the cloak from his body and nearly gasped at what she saw. The intricate pattern of the seal on his stomach was not only visible, but glowing a fiery red. She feared that if she even reached out and touched it, her hand would burn.

"I-it hurts," Naruto hissed, curling in on himself again. His teeth grit painfully hard. She could see his hands clenching into fists, so hard she could see trickles of blood dripping from his palms. She cursed, grabbing his hands and forcing the fists to relax. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the claws extending from where fingernails should be.

"Naruto-kun," she began, but wasn't able to finish. Everything seemed to happen at once. His canines grew in length, looking more like fangs than teeth. The whisker marks on his cheeks became more pronounced, looking more real. His eyes snapped open, showing red mixed with what remained of his ocean blue. A growl ripped from his throat and a red aura began to surround him. It poured out of him and wrapped around his figure as if it was a cloak. The Akatsuki robe disintegrated as it came in touch with the red.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura repeated, shouting. The red was beginning to form, becoming more than a cloak. Sakura squinted, trying to decipher its form. Her eyes widened. If she wasn't mistaken, it looked like a fox. Naruto looked like the Kyuubi. She watched as tails formed. First two, then three. The energy inside the cabin became too much for it to bear, and it began to tear apart from the inside out. It became too much for _her _to bear, because almost exactly after she saw the fourth tail appear, she passed out.

* * *

Kakashi stagggered. He ceased in following the trail that Sakura had left, using a hand to hold onto the base of the tree he was passing by. He grit his teeth, catching himself. He looked ahead of him, eyes hard. That couldn't have been... But he remembered it from so many years ago...

Sai seemed to have the same reaction as he did. "You felt it as well, Kakashi-san?" he asked, stopping to stand beside his elder teammate. Kakashi turned and spared a nod.

"We should hurry. Who knows what trouble Sakura could've gotten herself in? But from this sudden energy, I'm assuming it's bad." He pushed himself off the tree, finding the energy within himself to press forward despite his exhaustion. When he finally got his hands on Sakura, he'd make sure she'd never try something like this again.

Ten minutes or so later, neither of them were exactly timing themselves, they came upon what was left of a shabby old cottage out in the middle of the woods. Splintered logs were everywhere, a roof barely on top of the original structure. It was blown through, probably explaining the splintered wood. The trees around the cabin were burned in some places. Upon closer inspection, Kakashi noted that they were from chakra.

"This is definitely where the explosion came from," he muttered to himself. And its definitely where Sakura led them too. Now the only question left was... where was she? And where was the supposedly alive Noboru?

A sound coming from a few yards away paused Kakashi's thoughts. It sounded like an anguished animal.

"Its coming from that direction," Sai spoke unnecessarily, pointing in the direction of the noise. Kakashi had already pinpointed the sound and was estimating the possibility of both Noboru and Sakura being around. What he couldn't fathom was what had made such a noise. He had ideas, but it couldn't possibly...

"Lets work out a course of action."

* * *

Itachi shielded his face from the explosion, only slightly aware of Kisame being blown a yard or so away from him. He watched the kyuubi carefully, slightly surprised that he was able to change so quickly. Within seconds of regaining consciousness, he'd somehow interpreted the danger and quickly used the Kyuubi to defend himself. He'd surely grown from the last time they'd met. He commended him for his skill. But it was still pointless. He was just dragging out the inevitable.

He stared across the space at his opponent. The sheer power kept him from taking too many steps forward. He was aware of Kisame getting up from the rubble that Naruto managed to create around him. Itachi caught his partner's eye and motioned for him to follow. It was only too obvious that Naruto couldn't withstand such power for long. It would wear out. And once it did, they would capture him and finally be through with this.

* * *

**A/N Hola readers. Sorry its taking me forever to get chapters out. I didn't forget about this story, but I just needed some motivation. And I've found it :] But Reviews would definitely help get the chapters out faster!**

**Comments, questions or Concerns? REVIEW!  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**[Previously]**

_"Its coming from that direction," Sai spoke unnecessarily, pointing in the direction of the noise. Kakashi had already pinpointed the sound and was estimating the possibility of both Noboru and Sakura being around. What he couldn't fathom was what had made such a noise. He had ideas, but it couldn't possibly..._

**XXXX**

_It was only too obvious that Naruto couldn't withstand such power for long. It would wear out. And once it did, they would capture him and finally be through with this._

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

Naruto's entire body shook with the energy pouring off of it. His heart sped up, beating twice as fast as it was supposed to, nearly equaling the speed of his chakra flashing around him. It thrashed as if it was coming alive, feeding off of his body's life to create its own. His skin grew hot suddenly, as if he was boiling. The heat increased until his flesh literally _burned, _peeling away, being replaced by the boiling hot rage of chakra as it eased over his body. It covered his face and hands, every inch of him until he could not even recognize himself. He roared in pain, he thought, head thrashing from side to side as the burning traveled down his being.

"**Aghhhhhh!"**

* * *

Kakashi nodded to Sai once he finished explaining his plan. "Understood?" he asked. It would be hard to pull off. There were only two of them, and although both had claim of a past in anbu, they were facing off against two of the ninja world's worst criminals. It would be a long shot, but he couldn't let Sakura down again. She was the last of his students, and he swore on his life that he would not let her down, like he let Naruto and Sasuke down. He wouldn't.

Sai nodded. "Understood." Kakashi nodded again, swallowing hard. He took a breath and forced himself to look at this from a strictly impersonal point of view.

"Let's go."

* * *

Itachi watched the transformation of the jinchuuriki with a set jaw. This was not what he expected. But he should have. If the boy was training this whole time with Jiraiya or Kakashi or _someone_ he was ought to be stronger. But not this strong. He managed to keep hidden this long, meaning he should not have been able to reach this stage at all. They would have picked it up. The jinchuuriki was strong. But it didn't mean anything. His death was already guaranteed. It needed to be to achieve their goals.

He watched Naruto writhe and he figured this was as good a time as any to attack, now when he was otherwise occupied. If he was this out of control with his transitions, it shouldn't take too long to get the upper hand. It was all a matter of finding the chink in his armor. Itachi reached at his waist and grabbed a kunai, waisting little time in charging at the raging kyuubi. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kisame follow in his lead.

Kisame attacked from the side in an effort to avoid the thrashing tails of the beast. Itachi decided on an above tactic. He was swifter than his comrade, and could dodge much easier than he could. He lept up on the wall of the destroyed cabin, able to get just a foot or two above Naruto's head. It was a direct target. He could manage to lodge the kunai in his shoulder and distract him long enough to incapacitate him and finish off the job. He jum[]ed and went for the hit, just in time to see one of the tails leap up in a lightning fast movement and knock Kisame back into another mound of rubble out of the corner of his eye. Itachi barely blinked, turning his attention back to the prize. He came within possibly a foot of his objective before he saw Naruto toss his head back. Itachi barely paid attention to the movement, guessing that he was going to let out another "threatening" roar. But once his mouth o[]ened, he noticed something other than the norm occuring. Naruto's body shook, little orbs bouncing off of him in every direction. Itachi's eyes widened, thinking that he was attacking him. He tried to slow his descent in an attempt to avoid it. But the balls did not come after him. The floated in the air, colors of blue and red. There were hundreds of them.

"What the..." Itachi started, watching Naruto's tails come in front of him, pointing down towards the earth. Slowly, the orbs of energy floated towards them as if they were attracted by a force. As they reached their destination, the fused to one another, growing in size after each fusion. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he fell back to the earth, aborting his earlier plan and watching what was up the nine~tails' sleeve. The combined orb grew until it was bigger than Naruto's head, the color a deep purple, growing deeper in color until it was practically black.

Naruto tossed his head back, the orb now shrinking to the size of an orange, just small enough to fit into his ga[]ing mouth. Itachi watched as Naruto opened his mouth even wider, taking the energy ball into his mouth with one bit. His eyes narrowed.

That is, until Naruto's cheeks puffed out and Itachi finally realized what was happening. His eyes grew wide and he tried to move, but it was far too late. Naruto opened his mouth again, emitting a blast so terrible that it disintegrated everything in its path.

* * *

"get down!" Kakashi shouted at Sai, grabbing the younger shinobi and dragging him out of the way of the blast that had been coming straight for them. Kakashi covered his eyes as the blinding light shot past, keeping Sai from being hit from the blast. It looked as if it would prove to be fatal. It lasted a moment or two, but then the light faded and died, leaving nothing but destroyed land in its wake. He slowly stood, grabbing Sai by the collar and lifting him as well. He frowned, looking in both directions and wondering what could have caused the blast. But he saw nothing, he heard nothing, he felt nothing. Not even the powerful chakra he felt before. Nothing. He frowned. Something must have happened. They needed to find Sakura now and figure out what was going on.

He motioned for Sai to follow him as he walked in the direction the blast had come from, making sure to keep away from the ditch where it had been in case another one followed the first. But one did not come. They neared where the house had been, now just a pile of rubble with two walls on either side still standing. He looked on with a deep frown, wondering if any survivors could have made it through something that caused it. He surely hoped so. He turned his head, surveying the area, his eyes landing on a little spot of rosette colored hair. His eyes widened and he rushed to it, spotting Sakura, passed out on her back. But she didn't seem too harmed. A few scratches and bruises here and there. Most likely she fainted. He put an arm gently behind her shoulder blades, lifting her gingerly. "Sakura," he whispered. "Sakura, wake up."

Sakura's eyelids fluttered open, revealing her seafoam green emeralds. She narrowed them in an attempt to get used to the light, licking her li[]s and sitting up. "Kakashi-sensei..." she muttered, looking around, a confused expression on her face.

"Yes, Sakura. It's me. What happened here? Where's Noboru?" Kakashi asked, too anxious to get answers to wait for her to fully recover.

Sakura's eyes widened as if remembering something she forgot. She moved out of Kakashi's arms, scampering to her feet in a hurry. She looked around, her head whipping this way and that. "Naruto... he... he woke up and he screamed..."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sakura, this isn't the time. We need to find Noboru. Do you know where he is?" he asked slowly.

Sakura shook her head, frustrated. "There _is _no Noboru, Kakashi-sensei! He was Naruto the whole time!" She ripped her arm free from him, turning and running off a few feet away. She stopped and cupped a hand over her eyes to block the sun, searching.

Kakashi's eyes grew wide. He followed her. "Wait, Sakura, what are you talking about? Naruto's been dead for three years," he muttered, not comprehending.

Sakura turned to him and narrowed her eyes. "No, he hasn't. He... he wasn't dead. I don't know how, but he wasn't." She shook her head. "I have to find him. He was sick," she mumbled, turning away again and beginning to shift through rubbled. Then she ran off again and Kakashi followed her. There was a shout of surprise that he was sure came from Sakura's mouth. He transitioned into a jog, finding her easily enough. And her objective as well. She lay kneeling on the ground, Naruto's head in her lap, her arms wrapped around him. Kakashi could not believe his eyes. But it was right in front of him. Living proof that Naruto _was_ alive. But... how?

He swallowed hard, his heart beating irregularly. It was impossible. Naruto _had _been dead. He had seen the blood pooled underneath his body. He had seen Naruto's eyes as the fluttered with the last signs of life. He'd carried his _lifeless body _to the hospital. Tsunade had declared the time of death herself. It was impossible. But here he was. Alive. Here. Breathing. A little banged up, but he was otherwise fine.

"Sakura," he called, waiting for the pink haired teen to turn to him before he continued. "We have to get Naruto to a hospital. He's burned. And I'm sure Tsunade~sama would love to hear of this."

Sakura turned to him slowly. She hesitated, as if not wanting to let go of her charge, but she eventually nodded. "Yes," she said softly. She released her grip on the blonde enough for Kakashi to lift him, easing him onto his back. The boy was essentially dead weight. At the moment, Sai took the opportunity to arrive onto the scene. He nodded to Sakura before his eyes drifted to the blonde on Kakashi's back.

"Noboru?" he questioned.

Kakashi shook his head. "No. And no time to explain. We have to get back to the village." He shifted the weight of Naruto on his back.

Sai nodded. But then his face lit up and he reached into his kunai pack, retrieving an item. "Let's move quickly. I would like to show the Hokage this," he stated, showing a cylindrical item in his hand. Kakashi squinted his eyes, leaning forward and seeing it was a finger. Purple nail polish on the nail and a ring still attached. He frowned. "Very well then. We'll make it quick." He looked around briefly, memorizing the area before he started walking back the way they'd come.

* * *

**A/N How long has it been since I u[]dated? Forever? I've been meaning to []ut this out, I just couldn't think of a way to do it. Let me know what you think? Comments, Questions, or concerns? REVIEW!**

**Oh, and I'll try to u[]date more quickly. I know how hard it is to follow a story when the cha[]ters are forever a[]art.**


	20. Chapter 20

**[Previously]**

_Sai nodded. But then his face lit up and he reached into his kunai pack, retrieving an item. "Let's move quickly. I would like to show the Hokage this," he stated, showing a cylindrical item in his hand. Kakashi squinted his eyes, leaning forward and seeing it was a finger. Purple nail polish on the nail and a ring still attached. He frowned. "Very well then. We'll make it quick." He looked around briefly, memorizing the area before he started walking back the way they'd come._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

Naruto groaned and sat up, his head pounding. It felt like it was always aching. He squinted his eyes open and looked around, disoriented. His blurred vision began to clear and he realized he was back where he started. In his mind, in front of his imprisoned Bijuu's cage. No one seemed to be behind it now, nor was anyone else outside of it. He grew curious. It was the first time in a long time that he'd actually been _alone _in his own head.

"Kurai?" he called, his voice hoarse. He stood from the damp ground, turning this way and that, looking for his darker half. "Kurai?"

**"He's not here, Kit. He can't hear you," **The fox's powerful voice thundered. Naruto whirled around, eyes wide. He hadn't heard from the fox since Kurai showed up. And even then, it was brief. But here was his great companion, staring at him with his large, intimidating eyes.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Fox, what's going on?" he asked, nearly pleading. He was so confused. Nothing made much sense anymore. He was more confused than he usually was.

The fox chuckled. A giant menacing smile appeared in the vast darkness behind the bars of his cage. But Naruto was way beyond fearing anything that had to do with this frightening prisoner.

**"Don't hurt yourself, kit. I'll explain it all..."**

* * *

Sakura sat in Naruto's room, grasping his hand in hers. A silent tear had slid down her face and now seemed to dry on her cheek. But she wasn't sad. She couldn't imagine being sad ever again after this. She couldn't remember a time when she was this happy, actually. She smiled down at her friend, who was still sleeping. He'd yet to wake up at all since they retrieved him from Itachi, and Tsunade seemed to think he would be in a coma for at least a few weeks, but anything was better than him being dead. _Anything._ The feelings she felt when she thought she lost him not once, but twice was...

She reached out and ran a hand over his forehead, moving the hair away. Since they had not yet gotten him to wake up, it was obvious that they hadn't gotten his story. But they didn't need it right this instant. They were all just glad that he was okay, and ecstatic that he was back and alive and not dead. But other than Tsunade, no one but squad seven knew about Naruto being very much alive. And they didn't intend to tell anyone until he woke up and explained himself. They didn't want any assumptions about Naruto going after Sasuke again to arise, or for the rookie eleven to go nuts. And Sakura was more than fine about keeping this a secret. Because with Sai and Kakashi's visits a rarity, most of the time Sakura had Naruto all to herself.

She smiled wider at that thought. Being alone with him, even while he was sleeping, filled her with so much... warmth. Sometimes she'd lay her head on his chest and fall asleep to the sound of his wonderful, wonderful heartbeat. Or she'd curl up in bed next to him and feel his legendary warmth as she slept. She was in love with the idea that he was alive. Maybe, if she was crazy, she'd say she was in love with _him._ But she knew that to think something like that was strange. For one, the boy had been "dead" for two and a half years. And although she could tell he hadn't changed, she knew that she had. These feelings she had for him were a crush, if anything. She loved the idea of him, not him. It was impossible to fall in love with a man who's dead.

But then again, it was very possible. He was all she thought about, even before he showed up as Noboru. She smiled at the image of his smile in her head. Just him saying 'Sakura-chan' again, just once, would have her set for life. If only he would wake up...

But no. She wasn't in love with him. At least... not yet. But she definitely felt for him. She thought so. She'd spent such a long time not thinking of anything in the romantic sense that her thoughts on the topic were unclear.

* * *

"You wanted me dead. You tried to kill me. Kurai said you wanted to take me over. It was why I was sick..." Naruto muttered to himself, shaking his head. So far, the fox's explanation made no sense. He was confusing him worse. Nothing about any of this made any damn _sense._ Sometimes, he wished the Kyuubi would have just left them both dead. How simple would that have been?

**"Your darker self wanted you weakened so he could be in control. His goal was to fight you and weaken you mentally, tossing you aside. But your will was too strong, and his plan failed. He decided if he wanted to be in control, he would have to break you will."**

"How was he..." Naruto trailed off until, for once, he had a bright moment. He shook his head in exasperation. "The memories I suppressed. He brought them up to try to weaken me. He said he wanted to get me stronger..."

**"Stupid on your part for believing someone who'd just tried to kill you moments earlier, Kit. It was disappointing to watch."**

"Why didn't you help me!" Naruto shouted. "You saw what was happening and you didn't help!" He got off his knees and went up to his captive's cage, closer than he'd ever gone before. He grabbed at the bars, his eyes menacing. "You watched me get tortured! I thought... I thought you were my friend!"

The Fox snorted. **"Even if that was true, I couldn't have helped anyway. Keeping up such a long lasting and powerful hinge put a chink in my chakra reserves. Not to mention that I also had to work on what was causing your scrawny body so much pain. It wasn't easy. I was exhausted. But when I saw that your will was getting weaker, I forced a bit into you, to help you. If Kurai was to take control, the first thing he'd try to accomplish is taking complete control of me. And no one is my master," **The fox explained, growling. The force of the sound knocked Naruto back away from the cage in a gust. He landed on his butt and sat there, staring curiously at the furball.

"Where is he now?" he asked softly, but knew the fox would hear him.

**"I would like to say dead, but that's not the case. He's hiding somewhere out of my reach. Each time I sense him, he finds a way to elude me. I'm sure he's still plotting."**

Naruto nodded. He stood, dusting off imaginary dust from his pants. "I guess we're back to square one now then, huh?" he asked sadly. "And here I thought I was actually... getting stronger."

**"Not... exactly square one, Kit," **Kyuubi said, and it sounded as if he was... hesitant?

Naruto looked at him curiously. "Huh? What do you mean?"

_'Naruto-kun... wake up. Please?'_

Naruto froze. He knew that voice anywhere. "Sakura... chan?" he whispered.

'_For me, Naruto-kun? I know Tsunade said it could take weeks but... I can't wait that long to talk to you. Please, wake up?'_

**"She and the rest of your squad know your secret. They know who and what you are. Who you contain."**

"Sakura-Chan... knows?"

'_Naruto-kun...'_

* * *

Sakura stroked her fingers over the back of his hand and brought it gently up to her lips. She didn't realize when she started talking to him, but she realized that it made her feel that much better. She enjoyed talking to him, even if he didn't reply.

"Naruto-kun... please wake up? If you do this one thing for me then... I'll do you a favor too. I don't know if you can hear me, but that should be enough incentive if you can." She gently kissed his hand. "I'll go on a date with you, as soon as you get out of the hospital. You can choose the place," she bargained, until she realized how silly she sounded. Bargaining with a boy in a coma, trying to wake him up. How childish. She shook her head at herself. But if she admitted it, she liked the idea of she and Naruto on a date. Lots of dates. Showing off that they were out together, just the two of them. Not on a mission, but spending their free time with one another. She smiled.

An image came into her mind, of her and Naruto in front of the door to her apartment. Obviously after a date. He was leaning in, his lips centimeters from hers. She blushed. She felt like a little kid again, fantasizing about her first kiss with Sasuke. She shook her head. Stupid, silly girl. But... she blushed. How would it feel to kiss Naruto? She looked down at him and her blush got deeper. A quick one, just to see? An experiment. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire as she moved Naruto's hand from her mouth and leaned down towards his lips.

It was only supposed to be a quick peck, but it seemed like so much longer. His harder lips against her softer ones, his gentle warm breath tickling her nose. She smiled, mouth still on his, and moved to separate when his lips twitched and finally moved against hers. She gasped and jolted, her body instinctively moving to sit up straight, but a hand tangled in her pink locks kept her lips where they were.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled.

* * *

**A/N Sorry this chapter took so long! Ugh, so much. But I made Naruto wake up! So... good points :]**

**I honestly tried this time to update quicker, I did! Hmph. Maybe Reviews will help motivate me? :3**

**COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS? REVIEW!  
**


	21. Chapter 21

**[Previously]**_  
_

_Sakura gasped and jolted, her body instinctively moving to sit up straight, but a hand tangled in her pink locks kept her lips where they were._

_"Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty One**

Sakura sighed into the kiss, her eyes easing closed even at the shock that Naruto had just said her name and was kissing her. Her heart thundered in her chest but she fought to ignore it. She wanted nothing, not even what could possibly turn into a heart attack, to disturb what was happening right now. She was highly mistaken if she thought that Naruto just being alive made her the happiest girl to have ever existed. _This_ made her the happiest girl.

"Naruto-kun," she sighed against his lips, kissing him back. Or was he kissing her back, since she started it? Naruto used his free hand, the one not in her hair, to push himself up on the bed until he was sitting upright. All while keeping their lips connected. The kiss was a little sloppy, as how Naruto had just woken up from a coma and neither one of them exactly had a world's of experience with this kind of thing, but none of that seemed to matter. Because it was just them, together, sharing an intimate moment. Together.

"Sakura-san, I came to check Naruto-kun's... _Oh!_ I'm sorry!" Shizune's voice shrieked from the hallway. Naruto and Sakura both leaped off of each other, eyes dazed and mouths swollen from the kiss.

"Ah! Shizune, it's not what it looks like!"

* * *

Naruto winced childishly as Tsunade drew blood from his arm, then patched him up. In the corner stood Sakura, still blushing from Shizune walking in on her and Naruto's good morning kiss. Shizune was standing next to Tsunade, assisting in whatever way she could. She refused to meet Sakura's eye, and the pinkette was sure that she was just as embarrassed as she was. The only one not bothered with the whole ordeal was Naruto, who was whining and acting like his normal self.

"Stop being a baby," Tsunade demanded of him, flicking his head with a _thump!_ Sakura giggled and Naruto shot her a pout.

"Sakura-chan, don't laugh at me!" he whined.

Sakura giggled into her hand. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she apologized, trying to stifle her chuckles. Her mentor gave her a look out of the corner of her eye, a blonde eyebrow arched in question. Sakura smiled sheepishly and averted her eyes to the floor.

Tsunade tapped a fist on the top of Naruto's head, to which he covered and complained, and sat down in a chair by his bed. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Shut it. Now, do you care to _explain_ what the hell is going on here, now that you've blessed us all with your consciousness?" she questioned, eyes narrowed.

Naruto looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

Sakura facepalmed and Shizune sighed in exasperation. Same old Naruto. Tsunade's glare only intensified. "I _mean_ that you've had the entire world thinking that you were dead for three years. Do you know how much your funeral cost the village? Not only that, but the emotional damage it's caused your friends? Hinata was heartbroken after you 'died'. She didn't leave her room for months afterward. And Sakura here, as much of a great medic-nin she is, is a robot. An emotionless, unfeeling _robot_." Sakura looked offended by this, but Tsunade didn't even spare her a glance. "Faking your own death was selfish, something I thought I would never have to call you. I'm ashamed," she finished, frowning, her face set in shadows. "And you had the nerve to come back in a _disguise."_

"Shishou!" Sakura called, leaping to defend Naruto from this onslaught of criticism.

"No, Sakura. She's right. It was dumb." Naruto grabbed the sheets tightly in his hands. The memories of these last few months flashed in his head. The sadness in Sakura's eyes when she thought of him, and the cloud of hurt that followed her around wherever she went. He deserved every word Tsunade threw at him for making Sakura feel that way.

"Explain yourself," Tsunade demanded.

Naruto swallowed deeply. "I... It wasn't my idea. It was the Fox's. The Kyuubi's," he began, his hand touching his stomach.

Tsunade's eyes grew slightly wide in interest. "The Kyuubi's? Since when are you able to speak with him?"

Naruto shrugged. "Since I woke up? He's always talking... except sometimes." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, he realized I was dying after all my organs started failing, and he sort of... let it happen. I really was dead, honest," he swore quietly. He heard Sakura take in a quick breath and he closed his eyes. "But he brought me back to life. I can't... remember how. He put me into a coma for a few years, so I thought I was dead for a while. But then he woke me up after I was fully healed, and told me I had to be disguised if I wanted to come back to the village. He said I didn't have a choice, or you all would really think I was a monster..." he said breathily, his voice choking off slightly. He swallowed. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

The room fell silent. Even Tsunade. She simply sat Naruto up and checked the bandages on his burned skin, even if she knew they wouldn't need to be changed for a while. Naruto kept his eyes down, eventually closing them. After Tsunade finished her unnecessary check, she let him lie back down and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I would never consider you a monster, Naruto. I doubt any of your other friends would either. If you'd just explained..."

Sakura shook her head. "No, he was right to be disguised."

Naruto stared at her with wide eyes. "Sakura-chan..." He sounded hurt. Did she consider him a monster? Did she think everyone else would?

Sakura continued speaking. "The Akatsuki were silent until Naruto appeared again as Noboru. When he showed up, they must have realized immediately who he was. I don't know how, but that's what makes the most sense. They attacked him at the first opportune moment. We were lucky that he was out of the village and no one knew who he was. It might have endangered his life, but it indirectly protected the village. He was smart." Sakura mentally smirked. She never thought she would ever identify with Naruto as "smart".

The corner of Naruto's lips quirked up slightly. She called him smart. She defended him. His heart swelled. "Sakura-chan..."

Tsunade looked at her young apprentice and sighed. She had grown so much it seemed. So passionate and smart. She looked over at Naruto and couldn't help but smile. Despite her disappointment and anger at him, she was also overjoyed with the fact that he was alive. Not that she'd ever tell anyone. "Alright then. Since I see no real crime, I have no choice but to let it go. For now. And I suppose your other friends would be excited to hear about this news."

Naruto's eyes brightened. "The others? I can see them? They don't know? Can I talk to them?" he asked, rambling. He reached and pulled the hospital blankets off of himself, about to climb out of the bed when Tsunade pushed him back down.

"Not so fast. You're still not completely healed from your burns. I suspect the Kyuubi wants to stay away from them seeing as it was his chakra that caused them. It's going to take longer for them to heal. But if you're really so anxious to see them, I'll find a way to break the news to them that you aren't dead and send them in."

Naruto's legendary foxy grin shined across his face. "You're the best, Tsunade-baa-chan!" he cried, reaching over to hug her.

Tsunade's fist collided with his face. "I told you not to call me that!"

* * *

Hinata sat in her bed, knees pulled to her chest as she looked out of her window. The sun was shining over the village, but inside her room felt gloomy and lifeless. She felt so helpless. She knew she didn't just imagine the similarities between the two. But maybe that was all they were. Similarities. Maybe Gaara was right. She was so desperate to have Naruto back that she just...

She sighed. To say her father was angry at her antics was an understatement. Mostly because she had humiliated the family in front of the Kazekage. But she could care less about that. She could care less about everything.

For all she knew, Naruto and Noboru were just distantly related and looked strangely alike. She knew that Naruto didn't know his family. It was a possibility. They acted so much alike, they could have been cousins. She sighed, covering her face with her hands. How could she be so stupid?

"Hinata-sama?" Neji's quiet voice called from the doorway. She looked up from her hands and smiled sadly at her older cousin. In his hands was a tray of tea, a kettle and two cups. Neji had become so much more thoughtful of her since Naruto's death. He saw what it had done to her and became the caring pillar she needed to lean on. He sat on the edge of her bed and placed the tray between them. "I thought you could use some," he explained softly, filling the two cups. He picked one up and handed it to her.

Hinata smiled and took it in both her hands, sipping briefly at it. "Thank you, Nii-san." Neji's lips twitched up slightly in an almost smile and they sat quietly, enjoying their tea and their cousin's company. The good thing about Neji was that he never asked questions.

* * *

Sasuke sat cross legged on the floor, his black eyes staring blankly ahead of him, unaware of Kabuto as he cleaned scrapes and cuts off of his face. The older nin sighed and shook his head at the boy. He seemed to have improved over the last few days, but he wasn't at his best. Not even close to his best. Actually, Sasuke was about one step above being a vegetable. He nodded when spoken to, every once in a while replying with his actual words. But even then, his words were fragile and sounded inhuman.

"Sasuke-kun," Kabuto called softly. The dark head turned to him slowly, the eyes still blank.

"Naruto?" he asked softly.

Kabuto closed his eyes and smiled ruefully. "Close."

There was a sound from the doorway. Kabuto looked up to see his master standing there, looking displeased. Kabuto stood, walking over to him.

"He's no better than yesterday," the sannin said distastefully.

Kabuto nodded. "He's distant. No signs of improvement."

"Do you think he'll eventually do so?"

Kabuto hesitated. "It's hard to say at this point..." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, telling him to answer the question before he lost his patience. "But the way things are going... not exactly."

Orochimaru sneered. He walked further into the room, in the direction of Sasuke. In one swift move, he'd swiped his hand across the Uchiha's face and knocked his head so hard he fell to the ground. Hard enough to make the boy lose conciousness on impact. Kabuto sighed. He hadn't even registered Orochimaru's face.

Orochimaru turned to him, his anger obviously not satisfied from the strike. "Find a way to make him responsive. He has until tomorrow. If he hasn't improved, kill him. He's useless," he said bitingly. And with that, he turned and left the room.

Kabuto sighed. He turned and walked over to Sasuke, helping him up even if Sasuke didn't seem to mind his position. He sighed, looking into his eyes. "What's going on in your head...?" he muttered.

* * *

**A/N All I have to say is... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  
**


	22. Chapter 22

**[Previousy]**

_"Not so fast. You're still not completely healed from your burns. I suspect the Kyuubi wants to stay away from them seeing as it was his chakra that caused them. It's going to take longer for them to heal. But if you're really so anxious to see them, I'll find a way to break the news to them that you aren't dead and send them in."_

**_XXX _**

_Orochimaru turned to Kabuto, his anger obviously not satisfied from the strike. "Find a way to make him responsive. He has until tomorrow. If he hasn't improved, kill him. He's useless," he said bitingly. And with that, he turned and left the room._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Naruto and Sakura sat together in the room, quiet. Tsunade and Shizune left a few moments ago to tie up loose ends. The two former/current teammates hadn't spoken two words to one another since they left. Sakura didn't know what to say, honestly. She was overwhelmed with everything that was going on. It was sensory overload. Just a few days ago, Naruto Uzumaki had been dead. He was gone from this world and never coming back. And then there was the Akatsuki attack, which was an attack that she shouldn't have even _survived._ And then Naruto's alive? It was too much for even her mind to take in.

But even Naruto was quiet. Though there really shouldn't have been a reason for him to feel overwhelmed. For once, he'd been the only one in the loop. He was the one who knew everything and no surprises came to him. Yet he was quiet. Maybe he was waiting for her to say something...

"Naruto-kun," Sakura began quietly.

"Don't call me that, Sakura-chan. Please," Naruto said quietly. The words were so soft that she almost thought she heard them out of fear that he would actually push her away. But when she met his eyes, they weren't warm. They were hard and firm... maybe even detached. The Naruto that had been there joking when Tsunade and Shizune were there before had disappeared. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"Why do you call me that? You never called me that before. Never. Call me an idiot," he commanded her.

Sakura looked surprised. "Naruto? Why would I?"

"Call me an idiot! Right now, Sakura-chan!" he barked at her, his words hard and slightly louder, yet he hadn't shouted at her.

Sakura swallowed, a little frightened by his sudden anger. But she nodded and lowered her head. "Idiot."

"Say 'Naruto, you're an idiot'."

"Naruto!"

"Say it! Say I'm an idiot like you used to!" he shouted at her. His fists clenched around his blankets. "You were never nice to me before," he muttered, now much quieter than before. Sakura stayed on edge though, afraid he'd snap out of no where again. "You were only nice to me right after Sasuke left. Do you remember? You begged me to do that 'once in a lifetime request'..."

_"Naruto, this is a once in a lifetime request... Just bring him home!"_

"Did you even realize..."

_"Bring Sasuke back to me!"_

"... How much that hurt me? To smile in your face and swear I'll bring the boy home who loves you, knowing it means you'll never look at me again?" he asked, getting louder again. He clenched the blanket harder. A tearing sound filled the room.

"Naruto, I never meant to hurt you!" Sakura protested. Her heart clenched in her chest.

Naruto wasn't listening. For once, he had something to get off his chest. He was going to say his peace, regardless if it hurt Sakura. He was done smiling and laughing and pretending. He was _hurt. _"It was because of that promise that I risked my life to bring him back! I knew he was going to kill me! He told me so! I knew that was what he wanted and I still let it!"

Sakura covered her ears, her eyes filling with tears. She'd heard enough. She didn't want to listen anymore. "Naruto, stop it! Be quiet!"

"You sent me to my death! You killed me!"

Tears broke from behind the barriers of Sakura's eyes like a stream crashing behind an old dam. Her lips quivered as she fought desperately to keep them still, hands curled into fists as she wiped furiously at her red cheeks. But the tears kept coming and there was no stopping them. He was right. She knew he was right, this was all her fault. All these years she had tried desperately to push the thought deep down inside her where it couldn't bother her. Granted, it did creep up on her every once in a while but she always managed to swat it away before it really nestled into her mind. But here it was, that thought, and she was forced to acknowledge it. She had sent Naruto to his death; she had caused it. That was the purpose of her "once in a lifetime request" that she'd forced him to take on. She knew he wouldn't refuse her, and she knew that he would take it just as she requested it. A once in a lifetime request. She knew he would trade his life to complete that mission for her, she knew he wouldn't come home empty handed. He would fight tooth and nail, getting up time and time again after Sasuke knocked him back, trying to complete that promise. At the time, she hadn't completely let the thought pass through her mind, but Naruto would die for that. And he had. He had killed himself for that damn promise.

Her body shook as she thought about all this, her heart aching. She covered her mouth with her hand, squeezing her eyes shut. But the tears still fell. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. I'm so, so sorry."

Naruto's mouth fixed into a firm line. His own heart felt weak, cold. He couldn't feel anything and he didn't want to. He turned away from the subject of his affections. "So am I."

* * *

Sasuke sat cross legged, staring across the small distance at his blonde haired young friend. He had an arm behind his head, scratching his golden locks with a goofy smile on his face. To be honest, the Uchiha hadn't been listening to a damn thing Naruto was saying. He'd just been staring, listening to his voice rather than his words, thinking to himself.

"I must be out of my mind," he said suddenly, snapping Naruto out of his goofy story telling.

"Huh?"

"I didn't hurt you. But I thought I did. You were dead." He shook his head, scratching his own raven hair that had grown out so much as he'd gotten older. It came down to his chin now. "Kakashi knew you were dead, even before we got to the gates. You weren't breathing. Your body was cold."

Naruto laughed nervously. "Sasuke, you're out of your mind."

But Sasuke wasn't listening. It was just like before, only he was voicing his thoughts out loud rather than keeping them inside his head. "I knew you wouldn't live. My hand went all the way through your chest with that final chidori. I could see it on the other side," he murmured. His hands played with each other in his lap. "When I pulled my hand out, I felt it get stuck. I was on the inside of your chest, so I assumed I could feel your heart if I wanted to. I hadn't wanted to."

"Sasuke..."

"By the time you got to the hospital, you were already dead. Your pulse was barely there. Oxygen wasn't getting to your brain anymore. You were as good as dead. But I still lied... to Sakura. I told her I didn't know if you'd be okay when I knew you wouldn't." He brought a thumb up to his mouth, gently nibbling on the nail. His eyes were no longer focused on the boy in front of him, but on some distant memory. "I didn't realize I had the eye until a few days after your funeral. But that's how I know you're dead. Because I have my eyes." His thumb was released from between his lips only to have his hand travel up and touch one of his dark eyes. "You're dead."

* * *

Kabuto stared at Sasuke, the Uchiha's eyes still glassy and blank as they stared at no one thing in particular. His lips kept moving, though no words were coming out. This was only shortly after Orochimaru had left, and he was sure the boy would die by tomorrow evening. But the boy was speaking words now, despite if the words were actually coming out in sound or not. That was progress. But he was certain his master wouldn't accept anything less than a full recovery from his vessel. He didn't need someone so weak, and he needed a new body very soon.

"You're dead..." Sasuke said breathily. The words were so soft they carried on the small draft that entered the room from that top window in the corner. Kabuto leaned forward, frowning to see if Sasuke had actually spoken or not.

"You're dead," Sasuke repeated. "Naruto... is dead."

Kabuto frowned. "Yes, Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto is dead. He's been dead for years."

"Uzumaki Naruto... is dead."

* * *

Naruto was alone. Sakura had left him not too long ago. She didn't bother staying and waiting for the parade of friends who would come to find out he was alive, despite the fact that she'd seemed to be almost as excited about it as he was. She'd been looking forward to it, he could tell. But he knew no one would want to stay around after the barrage of attacks he'd sent her way. He was almost glad she'd decided to leave, though. If she'd stayed, he would have felt inclined to apologize. And he wouldn't take back what he'd said. He'd needed to say it.

He looked down at his hands. His hands, his true hands. They were his hands, a part of his real body. He reached up with those hands and touched his face. He felt over his cheeks, touching over the whisker marks that he knew were there. He felt up to his eyes, touching over the lids that covered his blue eyes, then dived his fingers into the mess of blonde spikes on his head. He let out a slow breath, head turned up towards the ceiling as he felt over himself.

"Having fun there?"

Naruto jumped. He turned his eyes to the door where the voice had come from. So familiar... yet it wasn't a recent voice. He hadn't heard it since he'd "died". And all memories from before he came back were muddled until he could clear his head, which could take a while. But as soon as he saw the man standing in the doorway, a smile cracked across his face. The grey haired man with the red markings on his cheeks. The toad sannin. The only guy who bothered to give him the time of day.

"Pervy Sage!" he shouted. He nearly jumped out of bed had it not been for the pain it would have inevitable caused him. Jiraiya smirked at the teenager and stepped full into the room. He walked over to the blonde and clamped a hand over his head.

"Hey, kid. I heard you were sick."

Naruto looked confused almost instantly. There was no outright signs of excitement in his eyes. There wasn't any suprise or shock or elatedness that he was alive. There was just that fatherly affection that he recognized from his past.

"Hey... It's me," he said dumbly. "Naruto, Ero-Sennin. Don't you recognize me?"

Jiraiya frowned at the mention of the old name. But it had been so long since he'd heard the nickname that he let it go. He ruffled Naruto's hair and sat down in the chair by his bedside. "Of course I do. You look a little older than I imagined, but you're still you." He reclined a bit in the seat, arms over his chest and eyes turned up to the ceiling. "I've known it was you for a while."

Naruto's brows furrowed above his deep blue orbs. "What do you mean?"

"Still not too bright, are you? Listen kid, it wasn't too hard to figure out." The pervy sannin let out a breath. "I don't really feel like going into it all right now. Shortly put, I could tell something was up almost the second you popped up again. Started following you, and you aren't too good at hiding your true identity. If anyone bothered to notice, well, then you wouldn't have pulled off your little life swap for long."

Naruto lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Pervy Sage."

Jiraiya waved his hand in dismissal. "Forget it. We have more important things to worry about."

"Like?"

"Your life. The Akatsuki realize you're alive. It won't be long before they send someone else after you. And at the state you're in, there's no chance you'll survive."

Naruto's eyes got wide before settling into a glare. "I love the confidence you have in me," he said sarcastically.

"It's not a matter of confidence. It's reality. You survived the recent attack based on luck alone and that pink haired girl. You won't be so lucky next time." Jiraiya's face was all seriousness. "You have to get stronger."

Naruto sat up more. "Yeah, okay. So what, you're going to train me again?"

"Just about. Only this time it's serious. I can't afford for you to take your time this time. We have to speed up your progess. You have the potential to be the strongest shinobi in the village, Naruto. All I need to know is if you're willing to put the work and time in. It won't be easy."

Naruto was wary, for good reasons. The last person who claimed to want to make him stronger tried to take over his body. Or so said the permanent tenant living inside him. He didn't know who to trust. He couldn't even trust his own mind, since there was a mastermind in there plotting his downfall. But Jiraiya had never done him wrong before, if one didn't count how he ignored him for women on a daily basis during their brief time together. And if Kurai happened to do anything or if his body got sick again, Jiraiya was probably the most qualified to help him.

"Okay. I'll do whatever you say."

* * *

**A/N OKAY! I believe I'll make a sequel to this. So this story is nearly over. Only a few more chaps to go! :D**

**Thank you to all my loyal readers. REVIEW!**


	23. Chapter 23

**[Previously]**

_"You're dead," Sasuke repeated. "Naruto... is dead."_

_Kabuto frowned. "Yes, Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto is dead. He's been dead for years."_

_"Uzumaki Naruto... is dead."_

**_XXX _**

_Naruto sat up more. "Yeah, okay. So what, you're going to train me again?"_

_"Just about. Only this time it's serious. I can't afford for you to take your time this time. We have to speed up your progess. You have the potential to be the strongest shinobi in the village, Naruto. All I need to know is if you're willing to put the work and time in. It won't be easy."_

_..."Okay. I'll do whatever you say."_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Three**

"...I think it's a good idea."

Jiraiya sat across from his old friend and crush and fellow Sannin. Her face, much younger and prettier than it really should be, was masked with the seriousness of the matter. Her golden eyes were hard, her lips pressed into a firm line. If he hadn't seen them move just seconds before, he would have thought her lips had been sealed with how tight she held her lips. Her chin rested in her hands which were bridged together, her elbows resting on the desk.

"You want... to make him... an anbu? He's not ready for that! The boy's just a genin, Tsunade!" the toad sannin shouted in protest. Tsunade didn't move, only a flicker of her eyes, but it quickly told the old man to lower his tone. His own lips pressed shut as he settled in his seat, his shoulders tense. Tsunade waited a moment to make sure he would remain silent before she deemed it ready to continue.

"The anbu are an elite squad of assassins. They are they best of the best and are trained to take out missing nin. Much like those who fill the ranks of the Akatsuki. He would be safest training amongst a group of anbu while his skills are still raw."

"He would be safest training with me and learning to hone his skills with the kyuubi. His greatest strength is the thing living inside him. He must learn to control it. It will be what sets him apart from the rest," Jiraiya protested angrily. He had pretty much been ambushed with the situation. After visiting Naruto he had been called in here just to be told his recently acquired student would be sent to an anbu squad as a genin who wasn't even half ready.

"I would love to put him back in your hands, Jiraiya," the Hokage said dryly, "But let's not forget that under your care Naruto not only failed to take control of the fox inside of him but also his own chakra. He's still completely out of control and-"

"He's been dead for three years! Of course his chakra control is lacking! And I taught him the rasengan, that should prove how well he was under my hands!"

"-the last time you were teaching him he wasn't your main priority. Listen Jiraiya, I know you feel like you're responsible for Naruto but you only appear when it's convenient to you. Not him. And with the trouble already lurking in the shadows, we can't afford convenient training. I'm sorry but my mind is made up. When Naruto is released from the hospital he will continue his training under an anbu captain and join one of their squads."

"Tsunade-!"

"You're dismissed."

* * *

Naruto sat in his room, feeling more lonely than he had before. Sakura was the only one who knew he was alive and he'd just chased her from his room. And who knew when Jiraiya would be back. He sunk into his bed, the pillows not helping to add any comfort to the situation. He sighed, wishing he was more of a reader when he saw the ichi ichi book Jiraiya left behind. But he'd rather bash his own brains out from boredom than read that junk.

"Naruto?" he heard from the doorway. He jumped, the sound of someone else's voice scaring him. And hearing his own name still made him jump as if he wasn't already figured out. He turned his head to the door, seeing a silver haired ninja with half his face covered and a book in his hands that nearly matched the one on the windowsill. A giant goofy smile expanded over his face, his eyes brighter.

"Kakashi-sensei!" he shouted joyously.

The copy-cat ninja glanced up from his book and his one visible eye scrunched up in a way that made the blonde imagine he was smiling. He slid the book into his pouch and walked fully into the room. He sat in the chair that Sakura had occupied before. "Naruto. I heard you were doing better," he said cheerfully.

Naruto sat up straight again and nodded to his teacher. "Much better. I actually thought I could leave but Sakura says the burns still need to heal. The fox is working slower than usual." He pointed to his bandages.

Kakashi nodded. "Ah, Sakura. I actually just spoke to her. She told me you were awake and promised you visitors. I figured I could be your first."

Naruto smiled at him. "Ah, thanks Kakashi-sensei! You really do care about me!"

Kakashi smiled affectionately. He didn't let Naruto's words get to him too much. He knew the blonde was just running his mouth and didn't think too deeply into what came out. He didn't have a hurtful bone in his body.

"Can we talk for a second, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto's face suddenly darkened. "I don't want to talk about that anymore, Kakashi-sensei." The only thing anyone wanted to hear or talk about was Naruto before he came back. They only cared about his death and what happened and how he was here. No one understood that he just didn't want to talk about that. He wanted just one conversation that didn't involve the fox, Sasuke, or his "death".

Kakashi straightened up in his seat, rubbing the back of his head and smiling. "That wasn't it at all, I swear." He let his hand dropped to his lap and he leaned forward in the seat, looking over at the former student from all those years ago. He wondered how much he could have possibly matured so far. Noboru hadn't appeared until about a month and a half ago. And while training and on missions, he hadn't used any of the signature moves known to Naruto, save for the shadow clones. That meant no rasengan at all, at least what the rest of them saw. He had no idea how much stronger Naruto was or weaker.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's voice pierced his thoughts.

Kakashi blinked, coming out of his wonderings. "Hm? Yes, Naruto? Did you say something?"

The blonde's face scrunched up, looking a little miffed. "You sort of drifted off before telling me exactly what it _was _you wanted to talk about."

"Naruto... when was the last time that you used the rasengan?" he asked him.

Naruto blinked right back at his sensei. He reachd up, scratching the back of his bandaged head. He hissed, feeling the sensitive burns on his skin and pulling his hand away. Instead, he rested both of his hands in his lap, staring at them.

"The rasengan...?"

_**"Chidori!"**_

_**"Rasengan!"**_

"Yes, Naruto. The rasengan. When was the last time that you used it?" Kakashi repeated slower. He saw something flash in the younger nin's eyes before his whole face darkened. He played with his hands in his lap.

"A long time ago," he answered quietly, so unlike his nature.

"Not since you've woken up?" he asked him. He knew Naruto would understand what that meant.

His former student shook his head, closing his eyes. "No."

"Why is that?"

**"_Rasengan!"_**

**_"Chidori!"_**

"...I can't..."

"When was the last time you used it, Naruto?" Kakashi pressed. He was met with silence. Naruto clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to block him out. His head quickly moved from the left to the right. "Was it with your fight with Sasuke in the Valley?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about that," Naruto muttered, a hint of pleading in his voice.

"So it was."

Silence. He was met by silence. Kakashi stood up, looking down at the young blonde shinobi. And it didn't matter that he wasn't looking at him. Kakashi knew he felt his gaze.

"Are you afraid of that Naruto?" he asked.

_**SPLAT!**_

_**SCRATCH!**_

"I don't want to remember," Naruto whimpered. "I don't want to think about that."

"You have to face your fears, Naruto. That's how you become a stronger shinobi. A shinobi doesn't run away whenever something frightens him. You need to face it."

**_"Rasengan!"_**

**_"Chidori!"_**

* * *

_Naruto gasped, his eyes wide as the chidori plunged through his chest along with Sasuke's arm. It split through him, pushing until the Uchiha's fist came out of his back. The blonde instantly went into shock, not feeling the initial pain that should have been coursing through his every nerve. His red orbed eyes, still enlarged, met the gaze of his former comrade. A smug smirk was on his face, seeming to say, "I won. I beat you". His fingers flexed on the other side of Naruto's chest, his hand slowly retreating out of his body. He pulled it out slowly, stopping once he heard Naruto's pained scream. The blonde cried out in agony, his head tossing back and blood mixed with spittle dripping from the corner of his mouth. The second that Sasuke heard the agonized cry, the smirk slipped off his face. His mouth opened in shock, finally realizing that the blonde was really hurt. This wasn't a sparring match where he could beat the crap out of him and feel joy at knowing he won. Naruto was hurt, with half an arm piercing through his chest. _

_"Naruto..." Sasuke breathed. His greyed skin slowly came back to normal, the color of the pale moon at its brightest. His ebony eyes returned and his hair shrank to it's normal length if not a little longer. _

_"S-Sasuke..." Naruto slurred. His eyes were lidded, but the young avenger could see that his deep blue orbs had returned. The red aura that surrounded his former teammate slowly faded until it disappeared. The whisker marks on his cheeks became less prominent and the feral nails at the end of his fingers shrank down. Naruto returned to normal._

_The wings on Sasuke's back slipped back beneath his skin, the two friends falling down to the Earth. Though neither noticed the decent. They were looking into each other's eyes, both shocked at what had transpired between them. Naruto's breathing became ragged, his body slumping even in midair. Sasuke's arm loosened during the fall, slipping out of Naruto's chest as they freefell back to Earth. _

_Naruto's body sort of just- impacted the ground below. He didn't try to stop his fall or soften the blow. He couldn't. His entire body was numb. He didn't even feel it as he hit the ground. He just had an understanding that he was no longer falling. A few seconds later, Sasuke's feet tounched the ground beside him, crouched down beside Naruto's body. He looked down at him just as a raindrop fell and landed on his face. Then two. Then three. All of a sudden, it was pouring._

_"S-Sasuke..." Naruto breathed out. He winced. It hurt so bad to even breathe. "You gotta come back to the village..." Even now, obviously seriously injured, he was trying desperately to keep that promise to Sakura. Even if he died here, he would make sure that his lifetime request was fulfilled. He had to bring Sasuke back to Sakura. He didn't want to see tears in her eyes ever again. "You have to go back for Sakura-chan." He coughed, blood spitting from his lips and falling back to his face. He wondered, was this it? Was he going to die? "Please. For all of us. You're my..."_

_His eyes closed. His breathing became ragged. He was tired. So tired. "... Brothe'..."_

_"Dobe..." Sasuke bit out. He could barely hear his words. It was like listening to him through a tunnel. "I had a brother. I don't need you."_

_And then everything went black._

* * *

**A/N FINALLY, You know sort of what happened after the impact and before Kakashi got there. So, fills in the blanks. :D There's more to come so REVIEW to get more!**


	24. Chapter 24

**[Previously]**

_"When Naruto is released from the hospital he will continue his training under an anbu captain and join one of their squads."_

_"Tsunade-!"_

_"You're dismissed."_

**XXX**

_"I don't want to remember," Naruto whimpered. "I don't want to think about that."_

_"You have to face your fears, Naruto. That's how you become a stronger shinobi. A shinobi doesn't run away whenever something frightens him. You need to face it."_

_**"Rasengan!"**_

_**"Chidori!"**_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"Naruto? Naruto," Kakashi's voice called him out of his reverie. Naruto blinked, finding himself back safely inside the hospital room instead of in the Valley of the End. He could no longer see Sasuke's face staring down at him with disapproval, as if he was looking down on him. He only saw Kakashi's face, the face of a concerned teacher looking over a student. "Are you alright, Naruto? You're crying."

Naruto scrunched up his face and used the back of his hand to wipe at his cheeks. Indeed, they were damp with salty tears. Why had he cried? "I don't... understand. I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei," he murmured, using his hand to wipe away the rest of the wetness.

"It's alright, Naruto," Kakashi answered. "What were you just thinking about?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sasuke," he answered honestly.

"Anything in particular about him?"

The blonde chewed on the inside of his cheek. He thought about telling Kakashi how he really felt right then: That he hated him. He hated Sasuke with every fiber of his damned being. He knew that if he was honest with himself, he wanted Sasuke dead. He never wanted to see the arrogant bastard again for as long as he lived. Let Orochimaru have the Uchiha survivor's body. Let him take the whole damn clan down with him. If he saw him again, he'd murder him without a thought. He wouldn't be able to control himself. Sasuke was the symbol of every wrong, bad thing in his life. Uchiha Sasuke was the reason for his unhappiness.

Of course, he would bring Sasuke back anyway. He would bite his tongue and refrain from killing him. He would pretend that he still cared for Sasuke the way he had when they were all thirteen... Before any of this had happened. Before Sakura broke his heart and Sasuke stopped it. Before he was betrayed by everyone he thought he was close to. Because he made a promise. It wasn't like a Hokage to go back on his promises.

But if he was _really _honest with himself, he knew all of that was a lie. He was just angry. He was hurt. He'd seen Sasuke a dozen times since that night in the valley, albeit most of his memories of that fight were repressed. Never had he had any thoughts of murdering his raven haired brother. He knew that he could never hate Sasuke, no matter how much it would be easier to. He had very few good memories of the boy he called his friend, and yet the few memories he had were enough. Uchiha Sasuke was a loved one. There was no amount of hoping or wishing that could take that away. If Naruto ever saw Sasuke again, he'd still beg and plead and shout for him to come back. He'd do it for Sakura, but he'd also do it for himself.

He looked at Kakashi as a sense of resolve washed over him. "Just that when I get out of the hospital, I'm going to try twice as hard to get Sasuke to come back to us. I did it once so it should be a piece of cake to do it again!"

A slow smile came over the Jonin's expression. Naruto couldn't see it, but he could sense it. "Well, you'd better start training soon."

* * *

A few hours later, Naruto was again in his room alone. Kakashi left a while ago to let him rest, but he couldn't sleep. He felt paranoid. He was worried about the fox and kurai. Two people he couldn't exactly trust who lived inside him. Both claimed to want to help him, but neither's actions exactly showed it. As far as he knew, they each wanted control of his body and to toss him away into the deepest corners of his mind. To him, it was a race to see who could get there first.

Of course, he couldn't tell Pervy Sage about what was going on. He would think he was crazy for thinking there were voices in his head. Everyone would think he was insane. Not so much for the Fox, but maybe for Kurai. And if they thought Kurai's personality was fake, what was to stop them from thinking the Fox's personality was fake? He could be imagining things, going out of his mind. Hell, he didn't even know if he was sane anymore...

He pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his head on his knee caps. He felt so lonely. So very, very lonely. He felt like that little kid again without a friend or someone who cared for him in the entire world. Everyone was angry at him for something that he couldn't have controlled even if he wanted to. He still couldn't control anything it seemed.

"Hey, kid," a voice called from the doorway. Naruto, once again, jumped in surprise at the sound of another voice. He looked towards the door, seeing that Pervy Sage had returned. He had a smile on his face, but there was something in his eyes that didn't match the happy expression. "How are ya?"

Naruto shrugged, sitting up straighter and letting his legs fall flat on the bed. "Okay, I guess. Kakashi Sensei came to see me," he revealed.

"Oh yeah? What'd he say?"

He hesitated. "Nothing important," he lied. "He just wanted to talk about Sasuke. Like everyone else." He watched as Pervy Sage entered the room and shut the door behind him. He walked over to the single chair beside the bed and took a seat with a heavy, tired sigh.

"Everyone wants to talk about Sasuke?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. They all want to know what happened."

"Everyone?"

The blonde groaned, rolling his eyes. "Yes, Pervy Sage. Everyone."

"The little pink haired girl, too?"

At the mention of Sakura's name, Naruto clenched his teeth. He felt bad for yelling at her, but the mention of her made him remember everything that he'd said and the emotion that was behind the words. And as much as he did say, there was a bunch that he'd kept back. He was far from satisfied. "Yeah. Especially her."

The Sannin seemed to sense the tension in Naruto's bones and decided to switch the conversation away from her. "So you told me earlier that you were feeling okay?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah. I'm still a little sore, but that'll go away pretty soon. Then you and I can start training." He was already committed to the hardcore training style that Jiraiya had in mind for him.

"You're willing to wait until then?" Jiraiya asked. His eyebrows were raised in shock.

"I don't have a choice, really. Tsunade-baa-chan will kill me if I try to sneak out."

"What if I helped you?"

Naruto was confused. "You'd help me leave? But won't Grannie kill you, too?"

The old ninja shrugged his shoulders. "Naruto, some rules were meant to be broken. It will be better in the end. A few burns won't make a difference."

"But-!"

"Naruto, what happened to doing everything I say?"

Naruto paused. "I thought that only counted for training."

"Training starts now. We have to leave very soon. I'll explain on the way out, but it's imperative that you listen to everything I say from this moment on. No zoning out, alright?"

"Uh... alright, Pervy Sage. Whatever you say.

* * *

**A/N Almost done!**


	25. Chapter 25

[Previously]

_"Training starts now. We have to leave very soon. I'll explain on the way out, but it's imperative that you listen to everything I say from this moment on. No zoning out, alright?"_

_"Uh... alright, Pervy Sage. Whatever you say."_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**** Five**

Naruto and Jiraiya began getting together the few belongings that Naruto actually had to his name. It went without saying that he wanted to toss away his Noboru identity and try to begin life as Uzumaki Naruto again. So all of 'Noboru's' clothes were discarded with, tossed in the garbage in the room's bathroom. Naruto was only dressed in a shirt that Jiraiya had given him that was much too big for his still scrawny body and a pair of shorts. Eventually, he would buy new clothes to replace the ones he'd tossed away. These were only for his escape from the hospital.

"Is this all you want, Naruto? Nothing else?" Jiraiya asked, holding up single green pack. It was the same one that Naruto took with him on the recent mission to rescue Sasuke. It looked a little worse for wear with holes in some places and burned scars in the tough fabric. But it was still functionable. Inside the bag was just a single framed photo of team seven that he'd swiped from his old apartment when he'd first arrived (apparently, no one wanted to live in an apartment that once housed the Nine tails jinchuuriki), an extra pair of shoes, his favorite hat, a few weapons, and the summoning scroll that Jiraiya first allowed him to use. His belongings were scarce, but he figured he had what he needed. Growing up with the past that he had, he was used to it.

"Yeah, that's it," he confirmed, walking over and grabbing the pack from the ero-sennin. "What now, oh wise one?"

_knock knock_

Both head snapped towards the door. Since they were both working on breaking him out, they had every right to be nervous. As was noted, Tsunade would murder them both if she found out about this. Especially Jiraiya, since he was blatantly going against her wishes. Jiraiya looked back to Naruto, thinking quick on his feet, and gestured for him to quickly climb back in bed. Naruto obeyed, laying down and pulling the blankets up to his neck to cover the change of clothes he wore. Jiraiya sat down quickly in the chair beside the back, sliding the dingy bag under the bed as Naruto called out, "Come in!"

The door opened slightly and Shikamaru appeared in the doorway. He looked slightly suspicious but everyone in the room, including him, knew that he was much too lazy to even think about investigating what the blonde and sannin were doing in there. It would be, in his words, "troublesome".

"Shikamaru!" Naruto called. He would have sat up if he hadn't remembered at the last second that the blankets were the only thing covering his escape clothes. So he continued laying down and simply graced the Nara with a wide, toothy grin.

Shikamaru gave a small smiled back at him, closing the door behind him with his foot. He slid his hands into the pockets of his pants as he came to stand at the side of Naruto's bed. He acknowledged the Sannin with a slight bow of the head, then turned to his former comrade. "Ha-ha, well what do you know," he began, chuckling. "I didn't think it could be true, but there you are... alive. After three whole years. Damn, Konoha's most unpredictable ninja strikes again."

Naruto chuckled as a blush of embarrassment flushed across his cheeks. "Yeah, well, about that... It wasn't like it was a prank this time."

"Yeah, yeah." Shika waved him off. "Dammit, I have no idea what to say to you. It doesn't even seem real, to be honest."

"Did... Sakura-chan send you?"

"Yeah... She snatched me away from a game of Shogi to tell me some sort of 'Top Secret Information'. Apparently, I'm the first one she thought of as to who would take the news most logically and not freak out. Go figure." He smirked. "I'm also in charge of gentle ways of breaking the news to everyone else. It'll be troublesome, but worth it, I guess."

Jiraiya stood up slowly and stretched his arms out away from his body. "I'll wait for you two to finish outside. I actually have some work I need to complete. Call me when you're finished, Naruto." He gave a casual wave and turned, walking out the door and into the hallway. Again, the door was closed behind him.

When Jiraiya left, Shikamaru took the seat that he'd occupied. "So, what's being dead like?" he asked, reclining.

Naruto stared at him curiously. "What?"

Shika sighed. "An ice breaker. But I've never really been good at those. So let's cut to the point. I want to talk to you."

Naruto mentally groaned. Of course, he should have known. These conversations were always the same. They came in and everone was excited, and then they only wanted to talk about tough issues. They never seemed to get that he just didn't want to _talk about it._

"What about?" he asked, not able to keep the frustration from his voice.

Shikamaru didn't bother seeming insulted by the sudden change in tone. He never even acknowledged it. He leaned forward in his seat, looking Naruto in his eyes. "I want to talk to you about how you must be feeling. The failure and all. I never got to talk to you the first time, you being dead and all."

"Shikamaru..." Naruto groaned.

He held out his hands in a sign of not meaning any harm. "No, hear me out. I know how you must feel. After that last mission... I felt like crap. Literal crap, like feces. Every member of the team sent after Sasuke was critically injured, and you died. And you know what? I was the leader. It was my job to protect you guys and I completely failed in every way possible. I felt like everything was all my fault. I went over every decision in my head, trying to figure out how it could have gone differently, but I always ended up just digging myself deeper into a pity hole."

"Shikamaru..."

"But eventually, someone had to slap some sense into me. There was nothing I could do differently, because the past was the _past._ I couldn't bring you back or try again to make sure no one got hurt. But I _could _learn from it. I could become a better leader and learn from whatever mistakes I made. I'd make sure nothing like that ever happened to anyone on my squad again. And you know what? I think I'm doing good so far." He sat up in his chair, his black eyes never leaving Naruto's. "I guess what I'm trying to say here is... Don't let the past rule you. It's the past for a reason. It's one of the few things we can't change in this world. But we can learn from it, and use the knowledge to change our futures. I mean, we've all got a big responsibility on our hands. We're Konoha shinobi. We're entrusted by our senseis, our hokage, and all the citizens who live here with the task of keeping our village safe. And one day, we'll have to entrust the next generation to do the same. And we can't do that if we set a bad example for them and live in the past without learning anything. Get it?"

Naruto stared at him for a moment, mulling over his words in his head. He felt about two inches tall, Shika's words clashing against his mind and shouting at him that he was doing exactly what he was telling him not to do. He _was_ living in the past. He _was_ wallowing in self pity. And even though he wasn't dwelling over his own mistakes (Though there were plenty of them), he _was _dwelling on others'.

He felt like such an asshole. As if Sakura knew when she made him make that promise to her that he was in love with her and she was breaking his heart, or that she knew he was going to die that day. She had only been _thirteen_! She was just a kid, like all of them had been. She hadn't known anything. She wasn't at fault for anything. And yet, right then, she was probably out somewhere blaming herself as if she'd killed him herself.

Dammit.

* * *

**[A few hours later]**

Naruto stood in the midnight air, grateful to be out of the hospital and able to just be _free_. He could go to Ichiraku Ramen if he really truly wanted to. He had the ability to. But he knew that Ero-Sennin would bash his head in if he risked stopping and getting caught and being sent back to the hospital. They probably wouldn't have the chance to leave the hospital again if he was sent back. Tsunade would keep him under tight surveillance until he was fully healed. And Pervy Sage probably wouldn't be able to come to see him again.

But he did plan to make one stop before he left. Jiraiya went off ahead to make sure everything was clear for their departure and the guards at the gate wouldn't give them too much trouble for leaving. He was supposed to send a toad to him when the coast was clear. So he was free to wander discreetly around Konoha until then.

He jumped up on a low hanging branch of a cherry blossom tree just outside of a window of a small apartment building. He knew very little about the particular building, but knew a lot about one of the apartments it held. And he knew even more about the tenant that stayed there. Standing on the branch and trying to keep his balance, he leaned forward and knocked lightly on the glass of the window. There was a shuffle inside, and then a pink haired figure appeared behind the glass.

"Naruto?" she asked, sounding a mix between timid and shocked. "What are you doing here? What are you doing out of the hospital?"

He ran his tongue over dry lips. He was sudeenly filled with a sense of tension. "I um... I'll explain in a second. Can I come in?"

* * *

**A/N Woooooooo! Quick update! And a Cliffy! I love it :D**

**Thanks for all the reviews, my lovely readers. Oh, and quickly, what are your opinions of the sequel? Cause I may not have to write one and I could just continue the story here. There are just some ends I would tie up in the sequel and I could do that on this story. It all depends on whether or not you all want a reeeeeally long story. I dunno, I write for you guys. So whatever you want, I'm your slave :3**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns?**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	26. Chapter 26

**[Previously]**

_"Naruto?" she asked, sounding a mix between timid and shocked. "What are you doing here? What are you doing out of the hospital?"_

_He ran his tongue over dry lips. He was sudeenly filled with a sense of tension. "I um... I'll explain in a second. Can I come in?"_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-six**

Sakura stood at the window in the fuzzy white slippers she wore when she needed to be comforted and no one was available to hold her the way she wanted to be held. They weren't the best substitute for human contact, but she'd learned to do without on most days over the course of three years. She also wore pajamas that consisted of pink bottoms and a white T shirt that was much too big for her, but her clothes weren't nearly as comfortable as her fuzzy slippers. Actually, under Naruto's scrutinizing gaze, she felt very uncomfortable in her pink bottoms and large T shirt.

"Um... sure," she murmured, sliding her fingers under the window and sliding it up. The part of her brain responsible for telling her whether or not the decisions she was making for herself were the right ones was screaming at her that this was definitely a bad decision. Her view of Naruto had changed greatly from the image she had of him as a thirteen-year-old boy. For one, she may have embellished exactly how good their relationship was before he went on that mission to save Sasuke-kun. She had managed to convince herself that she hadn't been a cruel monster to Naruto before she needed something from him. She didn't like to think that she'd taken advantage of him before he died, and once he did she didn't have the chance to apologize to him. And as much as she cried over his grave and apologized to him, she knew that those feelings of hatred must have been stirring within his head over the last three years. The fact that he said something to her instead of letting it go the way the Naruto in her mind would have made it even more difficult to tie the two Narutos together to be the same boy. And the beast he'd become at the cabin with the Akatsuki members... Her frontal lobe had every reason to be fearful of her decision to let Naruto into her home. But past that, she knew she had no reason to fear. Despite his new feelings of anger towards her and the destructive thing that he could become, she knew that Naruto would never hurt her.

The blonde boy looked sheepishly gracious. "Thanks, Sakura-chan," he whispered, crawling through the window once the pinkette moved out of the way to let him into the room. Once inside, he looked around the dimly lit apartment to get a greater sense of the woman who lived there. And yet, he found nothing. The place as far as he could see was bare and plain. Sakura kept no pictures on the wall and only had a big, old looking couch in the middle of the living room and a mismatched blue armchair. She did have a coffee table, but even that was bare. He frowned, turning to Sakura. "Where's all your stuff, Sakura-chan?" he asked.

Sakura blushed. "I um... I never had that chance to..." She sighed. Why were they talking about her furniture? "Why are you here, Naruto?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Did you not get it all out in the hospital?" She asked dryly, not able to keep herself quiet. Soon after numbly leaving Naruto's room earlier, she made herself promise that she wouldn't be angry with him. None of what Naruto had said to her had been a lie. She _had _tossed his feelings to the wind and used them as leverage to get him to promise to bring Sasuke back. She was purely evil and deserved everything he said to her. She was a bad person. She'd decided that a long time ago.

Naruto tensed slightly. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. Can we please sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the long old couch in the living room. Sakura nodded and walked over to the couch with Naruto on her heels. She tried to walk quickly to sit down and tuck herself beneath the tattered blanket thrown over the back of the couch. She felt self conscious in her pajamas.

Once they were seated, she sat waiting for him to begin the conversation. After all, he'd been the one to come through her window. But after quite a few long, painful seconds in awkward silence, she decided that she had to be the one to get the ball rolling. "Well...?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "I uh... Well I realized. W-Well, no- that's not right. Shikamaru came and he told me that I shouldn't- B-but no, he didn't really know what was going on, so he couldn't have specifically told me to say this but- I guess he did," he stammered through. Sakura looked down at the fingers playing and twining around themselves nervously in his lap.

"Naruto, what are you saying?" she asked, growing exasperated with him. She was exhausted. She hadn't been asleep yet, despite it being well past the midnight hour now. She'd been on her way to bed when Naruto appeared at her window.

The blonde swallowed and inhaled deeply. When he exhaled, the words he wanted to say finally pushed their way out of his mouth. "I just... I'm sorry I said what I said at the hospital, Sakura-chan. I never meant to hurt you. Well, I did at the time. But I've never meant to hurt you before. And I shouldn't have tried to hurt you then. I have always tried to protect you and it... it _sucks_ that I hurt you on purpose. I suck. I suck and I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. None of that was true. I just- I was just confused."

"Confused? Why would you be confused?"

"You kissed me! I dunno, I just wanted an explanation. But I didn't get the chance and I got the thinking and I _know_ I probably shouldn't do that but I did and I started thinking that you were just using me again to get at Sasuke and as soon as you could, you'd force me to go after him just like you always do!"

"Force you?" Sakura squeaked. She _forced _him?

"You always just seem to forget about everyone else whenever you're focused on Sasuke. You only care about getting him back and no one ever matters. You sent me after him twice already, even if you didn't know it was me the second time," he murmured, looking down at his own hands, too. "And I just..."

Sakura didn't mean to, but she zoned out in the middle of Naruto's apology, opting to focus on his most recent accusation. And she almost felt like dying at the realization that this was, in fact, true and she hadn't even noticed it herself. She had almost killed Naruto twice in her pursuit of the raven haired boy of her affections. Three times if she counted the coma she drove him into from the hard work of getting to Tanzaku Town early. She'd made him sick and he was unable to defend himself against Itachi and then Sasuke's brother drove that kunai through his abdomen and then there was blood, so much _blood_ and she couldn't... she couldn't...

She started hyperventilating without even realizing it. Tears flowed from her eyes in heavy rivers that made their course down her cheeks. Her hands shook as she brought them up to her eyes, trying to get them to stop. She was so damn sick of _crying_. All she ever did was cry. She swore after Naruto's funeral that she wouldn't do it anymore, that she'd make her friend proud of her by becoming useful. She became a medic-nin so she would never have to see another teammate die in front of her. But the one chance she got to prove her use to Naruto, she choked. She couldn't save him. She was fucking useless and in the end he had to rescue her just like he always did. She was useless, so fucking _useless_.

She hadn't even realized that Naruto had stopped rambling. "Sakura-Chan? Sakura-chan! Are you alright? You're crying. Oh, no! Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry!" Before she knew it, she was yanked into his arms, cradled to his chest, the blanket she used to cover herself falling around her waist as she was pulled to him. "I didn't mean to make you cry, Sakura-chan. I swear, I came to apologize and... I'm such an idiot!"

Sakura shook her head against his chest, wanting to tell him that it wasn't his fault. She was the idiot. Her own horrible feelings stemmed from the fact that she was ahorrible, awful person. She deserved to cry. She needed to feel pain. "No, I'm sorry, Nauto-kun. All this is my fault. You were so right, I killed you. If I hadn't made you promise... if I had just left you alone... maybe you wouldn't have tried so hard. O-Or maybe... O-Or maybe," she choked around her words, still wheezing and breathing quicker than she probably should have been. But she couldn't stop herself from hiccuping out her apology. "Maybe you and Sasuke could have talked it out. I don't know. Maybe..."

_'You sent me to my death! You killed me!'_

This was all her fault. She was to blame. All this was her fault and even if he was alive, he'd lost three years of his life. He'd never get those back.

_'You sent me to my death!'_

"I'm so, _so _sorry. I could never- I could never make it up to you. I could never give you back-!"

"Sakura-chan, breathe. You're scaring me." His fingers ran over her back and he was staring at her as if he feared she may pass out from her emotions. She tried to calm herself down for him, but she couldn't. Her body was doing what it wanted and she couldn't calm down; she had no control over it. "Sakura-chan, what do I do?"

She shook her head. Here they were again. This was beginning to become a vicious cycle of events: she cried and he saved her. She was beginning to think she couldn't escape this. He pulled her so she was sitting fully in his lap. The tears still came and she used her fists to roughly wipe them off of her reddening cheeks. Naruto pulled his backpack off his back and unzipped it while she pretty much bawled in his lap like a little girl. He retrieved a bag from inside and unfolded it, dumping it's contents on the otherwise empty coffee table. Then he placed the opening over her mouth, instructing her to breathe in it. She grapped it from him shakily, doing as she was told until her breathing was back to normal. For a second, she let herself be surprised. She wouldn't have imagined that Naruto knew how to take care of that.

When he was sure that she was okay, Naruto grasped Sakura's shoulder's gently and urged her to lay down with her head in his lap. She allowed it just this once, feeling even more of a need for comfort than she did before. If Naruto had just left her after calming her down, she didn't know what she would have done. She curled up, moving a strand of her own hair out of her eyes as Naruto's fingers entangled themselves in the rest of the messy nest of tangles, gently running them through it. She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed, though she was far from actually falling asleep.

"Sakura-chan... you don't really think all of those things, do you?" Naruto asked carefully after a while.

She nodded slightly, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. "Y-Yeah. A little bit. I deserve to feel that way, don't I?" she asked him quietly.

"No one deserves to feel that kind of burden, Sakura-chan. Especially you."

"But it's all my f-"

"Don't say that, Sakura-chan! Of course it wasn't. You weren't even there! Sure, you made me promise but... I'm the one who accepted it. And even if I hadn't, Sasuke was- _is_- my friend, too. I would have done anything to bring him back to us, promise or not. Despite what you think, I had my own reasons for wanting Sasuke back. Our bond... its something special. It _was_ something special. I think he damaged it forever when he drove that chidori through my chest-" Sakura cringed in his lap. "-But he could never sever it. And no matter how damaged, I'd do anything to save it."

Sakura nodded. "Me too."

His fingers went to rubbing the back of her neck. "So it's not your fault, Sakura-chan. That was my choice, okay? What happened because of it was my fault, not yours. And even if I did only try so hard because of you, I made that promise because I loved you and I wanted you to be happy. If I had to die for that... then so be it."

"Don't say that, Naruto."

"But it's true. I would do anything for you, Sakura-chan. Anything. And it's my choice to do that. I just want you to be happy."

Her eyes brimmed with tears yet again. She just couldn't stop herself from crying. She was such a crybaby. "You being dead wouldn't make me happy. I hated myself for years because of that. Your death would never make me happy, even if I did have Sasuke-kun."

"Then I'll never die again."

"You can't promise that, Naruto."

"I can try. I'll try from now on never to die again as long as I live," he said, and even when she wasn't facing him, she knew he was smiling. He was such an idiot.

"Baka," she said, smiling as well. But if she admitted it to herself, she was feeling much better than she had before Naruto had arrived at her window. She felt light for the first time in years. She felt _good, _even if they hadn't tackled all the baggage that stood in the way of them having a good relationship with one another. Just a tiny bit of baggage removed was enough to make her feel so, so good. And now they had all the time in the world to slowly pick at the rest until it was like it never existed. She smiled at the thought. "Naruto-kun..." she murmured. "You never told me... What are you doing out of the hospital so early?"

* * *

**A/N Woot! Update! I still haven't decided what to do, but I think I'm heading in the direction of continuing this story instead of a sequel. I'm still taking suggestions :)**

**Oh, and to answer some questions, the sequel probably wouldn't make it to half as many chapters as this one will end up being. And that isn't an exaggeration.**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns? You know the deal. REVIEW.**


	27. Chapter 27

**[Previously]**

_"Naruto-kun..." she murmured. "You never told me... What are you doing out of the hospital so early?"_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-seven**

Naruto froze when Sakura asked him that question. Somehow, he knew she wouldn't like his truthful answer. But he couldn't exactly _lie _to her, could he?

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto began. He paused. What was he going to say to her that wouldn't make her upset that he busted out of the hospital before he was cleared? "Pervy sage... he came to visit me."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure Lady Tsunade told him the good news. How did his visit go? I know he was bent out of shape when he thought you were dead."

Naruto swallowed. He scooted over a little and Sakura seemed to get the hint. She sat up but still continued to stare at him intently with her seafoam green eyes. He played with the hem of his shirt absently. "Well, he said he wanted to train me again."

A smile split across the pinkette's tear-stained cheeks, looking out of place on her previously somber features. It was like watching a rainbow crack across the sky over an old warzone. Despite how pretty it looked, there was still something depressing about it. "That's great Naruto-kun! Now with Jiraiya-sama and Lady Tsunade training the two of us, we'll ge- we'll improve so much faster!" Naruto noticed the hesitation over her words, a little pause to remind herself not to say "_we'll get Sasuke back in no time!_"

He sighed, struggling to find the right way to let down her spirits. "Y-yeah, we'll get better..."

"But Naruto... what does that have to do with you being out of the hospital?"

Naruto rubbed his arm. "I um..."

* * *

Sasuke decided a long time ago that there was no worse feeling than that of killing the one person that ever made a true connection with him since the death of the only family he knew. But he was wrong. There was something worse than that: Killing the one person that he ever made a true connection with and then believing that that friend was alive again only for that blissful fantasy to be ripped away from him. That was the worse feeling Sasuke had ever felt in his natural born life.

His hand slid up from the blanket draped up to his shoulders. He let it travel until it reached the lifeless blackness of his cold, cold eyes. He inhaled shakily, closing them as he felt over his orifices. This was how he knew that Naruto was dead and that he had died by _his _hand. He, Uchiha Sasuke, was Uzumaki Naruto's murderer. It was evidenced in his eyes...

Naruto could not be alive. He wouldn't have this new power coursing through him if he was. If Sasuke hadn't watched him die in front of him, seen the blood pool ounce by ounce from the wound _he'd_ made with his own hand... he wouldn't have these eyes. That was how he knew Naruto was dead. And there was no bringing him back. No mourning, no wishing... no nothing. Uzumaki Naruto was dust. He was nothing now.

He shifted in the bed, sitting up just as the door to his chamber creaked open just enough to let the tiniest bit of light in. He watched intently at the door, unsure of who his visitor would be. The only person he'd made contact with since his revelation was Kabuto, and even that was just for a cursory examination to make sure that everything checked up alright with him. Mentally as well as physically. He hadn't seen Orochimaru at all since he'd locked Sasuke in that first chamber where he'd first been out. When he "woke up", Kabuto was there to take him to a more "comfortable room". This whole time, he was wondering if Orochimaru was just planning to take his body now to save himself the trouble of any future assassination attempts.

The door slid open fully to reveal the shadowy figure of Kabuto standing in the doorway. He held a little metal tray in one hand and Sasuke felt his body tense up instantly. He pictured the tray being filled with various sharp instruments of torture, ordered by Orochimaru to be used on him until he learned his lesson. He wouldn't put it past the snake sannin- torturing his future body to make sure he kept control over it.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up closer to his face and stepped further into the room. He closed the door behind him and traveled the short distance to Sasuke's bed. He knelt and set the tray on the bed beside Sasuke's legs. When the raven haired boy saw the contents, he breathed out in relief: it was only food. Fruits, a bowl of something steamy, and a pot of what Sasuke could only assume was a hot beverage withan empty cup beside it.

"How are you doing, Sasuke-kun?" the medic nin questioned him. He plucked an apple off the tray and held it in front of Sasuke's face. Tentatively, he grabbed it from him and took a slow bite.

"I'm alright, thank you," he answered. He figured his best chances at survival were to play nice for now. He couldn't escape Orochimaru, he'd already learned that. The snake sannin owned his body, from the moment that he placed the curse mark on his throat back in the chuunin exams. But Sasuke didn't want to leave this place anyway. Not without growing stronger, and he couldn't be stronger without Orochimaru's help... as much as he hated to admit it to himself. And if being stronger meant giving Oro his body... then so be it. Besides, he didn't have anywhere else to go now. He couldn't go back to Konoha and continue to lie to himself about belonging there. He had come to terms with the fact that he and the people of Konoha were just too different. He was an Avenger, and Avengers walked alone. Konoha shinobi were weak and needed people beside them to make them grow stronger. Sasuke knew his path to strength, and it wasn't that. It wasn't there. It was here with Orochimaru.

"I'm glad. You gave Orochimaru-sama and I a scare for a minute there. I was afraid that I'd have to find him a new body." The medic-nin smiled softly as he grabbed the kettle off the tray and began to pour the hot liquid into a cup. Sasuke sniffed the air and assumed that it was tea. There was a faint sweetness to it.

"So you were planning to get rid of me," Sasuke accused once Kabuto handed him the cup of tea. He took a sip of it, watching the silver haired man over the edge of the cup with wariness in his eyes.

Kabuto continued to smile. "Only out of necessity, Sasuke-kun. You know you're Orochimaru-sama's favorite. He wouldn't give up on you unless he absolutely needed to. We thought you were nothing but a vegetable."

Sasuke assumed he really shouldn't be surprised. He knew Orochimaru didn't care for him other than as the next vessel that would house his black soul. Still, a part of him wished that there was something else there. Some part of Orochimaru that actually cared that his latest protégé was not okay; some part that might have even shed a tear when he died, the way that Jiraiya looked like he might have done at Naruto's funeral.

But he wasn't Naruto and Orochimaru wasn't Jiraiya.

"I see," was all that Sasuke said as he continued to drink the beverage Kabuto had given him. He downed it and set it back down on the tray, sliding underneath his covers again. Kabuto seemed to guess that he was finished and picked the tray up off the bed again.

"It really wasn't smart to do what you did, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked up at him, keeping his face passive. He laid his head down flat on the bed, debating whether or not to dignify his statement with a response. But Kabuto didn't seem to want one.

"Orochimaru wasn't happy. And it's proved that we simply can't trust you very much. Which is a shame, honestly."

Sasuke's eyelashes fluttered over his eyes. His strength hadn't fully recovered from earlier and he was already so spent. He needed rest and he was going to make sure that he got it the second that Kabuto left him alone. "What are you going to do about it?" he found himself asking around a yawn.

Sasuke could hear Kabuto's smirk in his next words. "Well, we'll just see when you wake up again, won't we?"

And everything after that was a blur.

* * *

Gaara stood staring out of the window of his office that overlooked Suna. It was much after midnight now, and he honestly should have been asleep by now- but he couldn't. For the first time since the Shukaku was taken from him, the Kazekage found himself unable to fall asleep. And it was all because of that Hinata girl from Konoha.

Her words stuck with him despite how coolly he'd brushed her off before. The similarities between this new shinobi and the Uzumaki boy that had shown him the true meaning of strength was uncanny. After Hinata had left in dismay, he'd dug the files out of the garbage in a sudden burst of curiosity. And after flipping through them and scanning the contents, he could see where the Hyuga girl had been coming from.

Name: Yamamoto Noboru

Age: 16

Height: 166 cm

Weight: 50.9 kg

Blood type: B

Academy Graduate Age: 12

Family: N/A

and

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Age: 13

Height: 147.5 cm

Weight: 40.6 kg

Blood type: B

Academy Graduate Age: 12

Family: N/A

Gaara could see where Hinata may have found her links to the two shinobi. Looking at their pictures, they were similar sans the whisker marks absent on the older boy's cheeks. Though he supposed those could always be covered... And their eyes were the same color. And they were both blonde, if not maybe a shade or two different. Looking at the files, he supposed that Noboru's weight and height match what could be the average growth of a thirteen year old boy during his teenage years. And neither Noboru nor Naruto had family records... It could be possible.

The Kazekage shook his head. No, he couldn't start thinking that way. Those kinds of thoughts were ridiculous, especially when he knew the truth. He couldn't allow some simple-minded, heartsick girl to come into his office and make him disbelieve the facts of the matter. Uzumaki Naruto was dead, and had been dead for years. They'd watched the coffin containing his body lower into his grave, and then watched dirt pile over the hole until they couldn't see the box anymore. If Uzumaki wasn't dead when they buried him, he suffocated shortly afterwards, he was sure.

Something had to be wrong with Konoha Shinobi. The last couple of incidents he'd witnessed concerning the bunch from his sister village were frightening to say the least. First Sasuke murders his own teammate in cold blood. Then the elders let him off with a slap on the wrist. And then Hinata comes and tells him that Uzumaki Naruto is _alive_? No, something was wrong here. There were patterns of _something_ here, and the link was Konoha Shinobi. He remembered reading somewhere that there was a concern regarding one of the prominent clans in the village, the Uchihas, which Uchiha Sasuke was a member. And if he was right, the issue that was of such vast concern was insanity. But what if it wasn't just the Uchihas that were insane? What if it was the Hyugas as well? What if it was the whole damn village that was out of its mind? If this thing escalated and the entire village was subject to these insanity spells, it could get out of control and the consequences could bleed out into the other five ninja villages- including his own.

Quickly, he grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and a pen. He sat down and neatly scribbled on it:

_Hokage-sama, I have urgent issues concerning one of your shinobi, Hyuga Hinata..._

* * *

"Naruto?"

The blonde ninja didn't know how to say it. So he just came out with it: "Ero-sennin is afraid that the Akatsuki are going to kill me. So he helped me leave the hospital so that we can leave before anyone realizes that I'm gone. He's going to take me out of the village to train me so that I can be stronger," he blurted.

"Y... You're... L-leaving?" Sakura whispered. Her pale lips barely touched one another to form the words that she wanted to say. The sound was just a breath escaping her mouth. It was barely there.

"Well... yeah."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah."

"But... But you can't leave! I just got you back! You aren't even fully recovered yet," Sakura exclaimed so loudly that Naruto feared she'd wake the whole village. He quickly covered her mouth with the palm of her hand in an effort to shut her up. But she only bit him so hard that she broke the skin. When he yanked his hand away, she had a speck of his blood on her bottom lip.

"Ow, Sakura-chan!" he complained.

Sakura only glared at him. "How could you leave me again, Naruto? After just getting back? We haven't even seen each other outside of that stupid hospital yet! You haven't eaten at Ichiraku or trained at our old training grounds or... or..."

"Sakura-chan, I did all that as Noboru."

"It's not the same!" she shouted at him, standing from the couch.

"Sakura-chan, please be quiet. Someone could hear you and then I won't be able to leave."

"Good!"

"Sakura-chan!"

She huffed and turned away from him. But she didn't make any other moves to get away from him. Despite how angry she was with him, she didn't want to be away from him at all. She'd missed him too much before to leave his company now.

"You can't leave me, Naruto," she muttered.

"I have to. I might die if I don't." And he was talking about more than just the Akatsuki threat. He had a feeling that his illness wasn't even close to passing. Actually, he was sure that the only reason it hadn't crippled him now that he was back in the village was because he'd been in a hospital the whole time. But once he continued to use jutsu and train, he knew it would come back with a vengeance. And only Jiraiya could help him with that. And Jiraiya would only train him if he did exactly what he said, which meant leaving the village. He didn't have a choice. "Or you'll get stronger and I won't and you'll leave me behind in the dust. I can't have that, Sakura."

She turned back to him. "Then let me go with you," she said with finality.

"What?"

"You have to leave to become stronger and I can't bear the thought of you leaving me again. I've already learned so much from Lady Tsunade already. Honestly, I can leave if I wanted to. Besides, knowing you, you'll need a medic around."

_'You have no idea,'_Naruto thought. But he got a flash of the image of himself when the fox's chakra took over him. Both back at the battle with Sasuke in the Valley of the End and in his recent run-in with the Akatsuki. Things weren't... safe with him like that. He wasn't in control like that, and knowing Jiraiya's teaching methods, he was bound to be like that a lot in the coming training days. He could hurt someone. He could hurt _her. _And that was the very last thing that he wanted to happen.

"Sakura, you can't..."

"Why not?"

"I... I don't want you to get hurt."

"You're worried about _me _getting hurt? I'm not the one that was dead for the past three years, baka."

"I..." Naruto clamped his lips shut. He didn't want to insult her by saying that he didn't think she could handle Jiraiya's teaching styles. They were extreme sometimes. But he didn't know what else to say to her to get her to understand that he was leaving and she was staying here where she was safe. "I'm sick, Sakura-chan."

That caught her off guard. "What?"

Naruto stood up and took her hands in his. He held them gingerly as if they were two fragile flowers that could tear and be ruined in a matter of seconds. He ran his fingertips over the much thinner and perfect fingers, over her unscarred and smooth knuckles. "I have the kyubi inside of me."

Her eyes watched him play with her fingers. "I know. It saved your life."

"Do you know what else it did for me?"

"...No."

He looked into her face, watching the confused expression settle onto her face. Her forehead wrinkled in the middle where her eyebrows pulled close together in concentration, watching his hands on hers. She was staring so intently that she didn't even realize that she was now the person being watched.

"The henge that I made to disguise myself was tinged with the Kyubi's chakra to make it... I dunno, more strong. I guess it wouldn't have lasted long as a disguise if I'd done it myself, and I probably would have been exhausted every day from having to keep it up. But I'm not entirely sure of the details of how, but it's making me sick. Really sick, Sakura-chan. And I think the only person that can help me is Ero-sennin, and he won't help me at all unless I go with him tonight."

She was silent for a moment. Then, "I could help you," she whispered. "Or Tsunade-shishou. She's the best there is. I bet she could help tons better than Jiraiya-sama could."

Naruto shook his head. "She doesn't understand the seal the way Pervy sage does."

"You think it's the seal making you sick?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it." He dropped her hands. "So I have to go, don't you see?"

She shook her head. "I could take care of you. Just like I took care of you on the mission before I even knew what was wrong with you."

Naruto looked sadly at her. "Sakura-chan..."

"What if you do leave and this sickness kills you and I never see you again?" She asked him desperately.

He'd never thought about that. He just assumed that everything would be okay as long as he went with Ero-sennin and had him monitor it. Dying never crossed his mind. "I won't die."

"How can you be sure?"

"I promised you, didn't I?"

That got her quiet for a moment. She stared at him for a long, long time before she flung herself against him and wrapped her arms around him. "I wish you could stay with me."

He hugged her back. "Me, too."

"Stay the night."

"The night?"

She nodded and buried her face into his chest. "Yeah. With me. Just tonight, if you can't stay with me for longer. Just stay tonight."

"Ero-sennin is-"

"Just tonight, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll stay the night with you, Sakura-chan."

* * *

"Do you have anything to sleep in?" Sakura asked him a few minutes later. After awkwardly parting, the two of them had separated to get themselves ready for the impromptu sleepover in silence. Apparently they both needed time to think about what was about to happen. Naruto was about to spend the night with Sakura? Her willing? And they weren't forced to do this at all? It was a little overwhelming to be honest, no matter how much Sakura had changed since they were kids. Sakura had went to get her bedroom ready while Naruto cleaned up the couch and picked up his bag of supplies he'd dumped there when Sakura was hyperventilating. But after they couldn't avoid the situation any longer, they both ended up in Sakura's bedroom.

Naruto turned red as he shook his head. "No. Just my hat," he squeaked. "I threw everything else away at the hospital."

Sakura's face reddened, too. "Well, I don't mind if you sleep in a T shirt and shorts or anything," she muttered back, avoiding his gaze. She awkwardly sat down on the edge of her bed where the covers were already pulled back for her to slide between. She'd been in her pajamas this whole time, so there really wasn't a need for her to change. Still not looking directly at him, she slid into bed and scooted to give room for the much bigger boy to crawl in beside her.

Naruto turned his back to her and shed his clothes quickly. He left on his T shirt that covered the bandages over his upper body, but the ones over his legs were exposed once he dropped his pants. He kicked his clothes into a pile on the floor and shimmied under the blankets with Sakura. At first, they sat with a bit of space between them like a force that they weren't able to cross. But then Naruto's hand snaked out and shakily touched Sakura's shoulder and like an electric shock bringing her to life, she scooted closer and snuggled against him. Her face pressed against his warm neck, feeling the reassurance beat of his pulse against her closed lips. It was steady if not a little fast, and comforting all the same.

"Naruto?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"... I love you. As a friend, I mean," she said quickly, not wanting to frighten him away. "I just wanted to tell you that."

"... I love you too, Sakura-chan."

And then it was silent again.

But then shortly after her gentle snores filled the room and signaled that Sakura was okay, Naruto's pain started. It built up from his belly like usual, causing him to clutch at it in agony in an effort to get it to stop. He detached himself from Sakura and rolled on his back, biting his lip and refusing to breathe until his face turned purple and there was the very real chance that he might suffocate himself. He let the breath go as he rolled out of bed and fell to the floor, curling in on himself and trying not to wake up Sakura. When the choking and hacking began, he tried to hold it in to the best of his abilities. But he still ended up vomiting thick globs of blood onto his floor in disgusting puddles. Once he finished, he stared at his mess in horror. The Kyuubi was supposed to make it so that he didn't feel that pain any longer. But it was back and with full force. Could even the Kyubi not handle it? Was he doomed?

He cleaned up the mess as best he could and tossed the dirty towel he used to do it in the wash. Then he packed up all his belongings and got dressed again. He couldn't stay here. He couldn't stay and let Sakura see him this way. If it was happening worse, then it could be occurring more and more often. And he couldn't let her see him writhing in pain. Not when he could help it.

He returned to Sakura's room and watched her sleep peacefully for a few minutes. And then he walked over, placed a kiss on her forehead, and dropped a note on her pillow. And then he was gone.

* * *

**A/N THE END! Well, of part one. Part two will come soon. Whether in a sequel or a continuance here, it's all up to you all! Seriously, lemme know. I got big plans for it that I want to get out there, and I can't put them out there unless I know exactly where I'm putting them. Ya get me? So REVIEW WITH YOUR RESPONSES! Or like, PM me or something. I don't bite, I'm a nice author :) I really want your opinion.**

**Did you like this little almost ending here? Hate it? Let me know! Constructive criticism is more than welcome!**

**Comments? Questions? Concerns? REVIEW!**

**(The sooner you tell me where to continue, the sooner I put it out. Juuuust saying.)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Okay, so I've decided to continue the story for now. That's what most of you want, and I write for you :) If it gets WAY too long, I can always find a breaking point later... right? Ha ha... haha... ha... Anywho, here you all go! Update! Thank you to **

**sparklybutterfly42 ****  
****The Keeper of Worlds  
****Deadman19 **

**For reviewing the story pretty fast so I can hurry up and update. I've been itching to do it. :) Again, thank you guys!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

The morning after she fell asleep in Naruto's arms, Sakura awoke to find herself in bed alone, clutching at the blankets where Naruto once slept. The space where his body occupied still held the imprint of his body, and the warmth of his skin could still be felt when she touched the sheets. It was almost like he hadn't left-But she knew instantly that he hadn't spent the night as promised, almost before she even read the note that Naruto had left her on her pillow:

_Dear Sakura-chan,_

_I can't stay. Ero-sennin won't train me if I don't leave tonight. I'll be lucky if he hasn't already given up on me and left the village without me. I'm sorry for leaving before you wake up. If it makes you feel better, I'm going to kiss your forehead before I go._

Sakura smiled and touched her forehead with her fingertips, despite how upset she was that Naruto left her after she'd begged him to stay.

_I want you to know that I'm doing this for you. I don't want to hold you back when you're getting so strong yourself. Remember what I promised you last night. And I_

The words were scratched out several times, as if he was angry at himself for even writing it. The paper looked almost torn with how violently and aggressively Naruto had tried to erase his words. But then, next to it as if he changed his mind after changing his mind, he wrote:

_I love you. More than as a friend. I'll be back soon._

_-Naruto_

Sakura stared at the words before her, clenching the papers between his fingers. The edges crumbled and folded where she held it too tightly_. _Inhaling deeply and trying not to allow her disappointment to get to her, she folded the paper back up the way that she'd found it and tucked it beneath her pillow gingerly. Then, as she rose for bed, she decided that she would just wait for him to return. He said that he would be back soon, had written it down for her. Sakura had already lived three years of her life without Naruto in it. She could wait just a little longer.

Or so she thought.

That day turned into weeks. Those weeks turned into months. And then those months... turned into years. All without a single sign from Naruto or Jiraiya. Nothing.

Nothing.

* * *

**[About two years later]**

Sakura mused to herself as she carried groceries back to her apartment for the month. She had gotten much better at remembering to supply her apartment over the years. She hardly saw her mother anymore these days, since their schedules hardly fit with how busy Sakura was becoming at the hospital lately and how much time her mother was spending with some guy she'd met in the market district a half a year ago. She'd yet to meet the man, but she assumed he was a good enough guy that her mother still wanted to be with him after so long.

She herself had yet to actually find a man that she wanted to be in a committed relationship with, despite her friends' constant badgering that it was about time that she got into a relationship. Not that she hadn't been asked out on plenty of dates before, because she had. Sakura could rarely go out on her own on a bright, shiny day without a person of the opposite sex approaching her and asking her on a date, which she would politely decline, much to Ino's dismay.

'_Forehead,' _Ino would reprimand her each time that she turned down a poor, heartsick boy, _'What are you waiting for? Sasuke to show back up? You need to move on, billboard brow! These boys won't find you so attractive anymore when you're thirty. Live a little!'_

Unbeknownst to Ino, Sakura wasn't waiting for Sasuke to return. Yes, a part of her was still in love with him, and feelings like that didn't just disappear-even if he did nearly murder one of her friends in cold blood-but she had given up all hope of him ever coming back without a little bit of physical coercion. Probably long ago, Sasuke had decided that his path didn't belong in Konoha with friends, but on the path that led to revenge and pain. They couldn't stop him from leaving, and she'd be a fool to expect him to waltz back into the village twice. She was only lucky the first time that Sasuke's guilt was enough to stall his dangerous thoughts of betrayal for three years, but she wasn't willing to sacrifice any of her friends or comrades for him again. When she went after Sasuke, she would be sure that she was the only one taking the risk.

Who she was really waiting for to return was Naruto, her blonde knuckleheaded ninja who had sworn to return to her soon after his training was done. She just didn't know that his training would take another two years...

Two years of waiting to see him again, of waiting to tell him how she felt.

"Hey, billboard brow!" A voice shrieked from behind her as she was just about to leave the market district. Sakura winced, knowing she'd recognize that voice anywhere. She exhaled deeply, then slowly turned to face the girl who she called her best friend.

"What, Ino-pig?" she asked, reshuffling the bags in her arms.

Ino crossed her arms, but looked like she was going to ignore the insult. Besides, from the look on her face, it looked like she had something much more exciting on her mind. "I have a surprise for you!"

"What is it?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, forehead," she muttered. She reached out and gripped Sakura's arm, nearly causing her to drop each and every one of her packages onto the ground. Thank goodness for her ninja reflexes.

"Ino, I have groceries!"

"This is ten times more important, Sakura, I swear!"

"Ino!"

"Trust me, Sakura."

Sakura exhaled grumpily. It didn't seem at all like this day was going to be as calm and leisurely as she hoped it would be. Dammit, one day off in months and she couldn't even spend it the way that she wanted to.

"Fine, Ino." She allowed the platinum blonde kunoichi to lead her out of the district and in the direction of Ino's family flower shop. When Sakura realized the direction they were headed, she felt like she was in for a very long afternoon with her best friend, and she couldn't say she was thrilled about it. She muttered under her breath a few times incoherently, not wanting Ino to hear and for her loudmouthed blonde female friend to get upset and take even longer to get to the 'surprise' that she wanted to show her.

Once they reached the flower shop, Sakura could almost instantly see that the day would be one of the more unusual at the Yamanaka store. Even before entering, Sakura could see a nice sized crowed of people gathered around in a circle and talking animatedly amongst one another. Upon closer inspection, Sakura realized that the group of people were all from their rookie 9 class minus maybe one or two. She read the expressions on their faces as a clear sign of exitement, but over what?

_'Did the Yamanaka get a new kind of flower in?'_ The young cherry blossom asked herself, but before she got the chance to ask her blonde friend what all the commotion was about, she saw for herself.

She realized what it was self consciously before it registered itself completely in her mind. She recognized the quick flashes of yellow tendrils of hair whipping around like they had a mind of their own, looking just as she remembered- like the sun had created a human child in its likeness and delivered him to the Earth to walk among those that could never truly shine quite as brightly as he could. Her breath was catching in her throat before she even saw him turn around suddenly- as if sensing her watching him-and saw the recognition dawn on him as his trademarked goofy grin spread so far across his cheeks that she honestly feared that it might crack his face in two. "Sakura..." She saw him mouth the words shortly before he was moving towards the door, at the same moment that her own feet were moving of their own volition towards him.

They met halfway and Sakura smiled, leaping into his arms as he expanded them to welcome her into them. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, burying her face into his chest and breathing in the smell and very essence of all that was _him_, her Naruto...

"Naruto-kun," she mumbled against the cloth of his T shirt exposed by his opened jacket. The jacket was different, had he changed it?

"Sakura-chan... I missed you..."

The pinkette smiled and turned her head up to look at him and answer with her own proclamation of how badly she'd missed him, but was caught off guard by the sudden and hard pressure of Naruto's mouth pressed against hers.

Her eyes widened at the shock of the sudden kiss, but then fluttered closed, her entire body seeming to melt completely against him as she felt the warmth of his breath on her cheeks, the air escaping his nostrils fast and strong as he exhaled heavily. One of his arms came out around her, a strong hand pressing against her back as it arched. The other hand crept up her arm and pressed firmly yet gently at the back of her neck, keeping her head steady as he made her dizzy with her kiss. Her own arms came up to circle around his neck.

When they parted, they both stood red faced and panting, eyes shimmering from the aftermath of their shared passion.

"Naruto-kun..." Sakura breathed.

That same goofy grin spread across his cheeks. "I have waited so long to do that."

* * *

"Hinata, please... say something," the young Inuzuka clan member pleaded the Hyuuga heiress. He sat on the edge of her bed, clasping her hands in his while she laid down staring almost apologetically at him. For years, he remembered badgering her about quitting her stuttering habit, but he never imagined that she would just find another, worse habit to replace the old one. H'ed kill to hear her stutter right about then.

The Hyuuga heiress hadn't spoken a syllable in the better part of two years. Kiba couldn't pinpoint the _exact_ moment that she'd stop speaking, since she'd always been the quiet type anyway, but gradually he began to realize that as he was interacting with her, the only affirmatives and negatives that she offered were gestures, never words. And she had gotten very stubborn with her universal silent treatment-she never slipped up or muttered even the tiniest sound. Hinata Hyuuga was silent.

From what Kiba gathered, her refusal to speak had its roots in the trip that she took to Suna in the middle of the night around two years ago that had gotten her into so much trouble with the Hokage and her entire clan. But back then, Hinata had spoken to her father, answering each of her interrogation-style questions with meek and straightforward replies. It wasn't then that she stopped speaking, but a little while after. Something happened after that, week or so after that, that made the shy little princess stop talking completely.

And it killed Kiba inside.

"Hinata... please," Kiba begged, allowing his disheveled head to fall limply into the lap of the silent girl. "J-just say one thing. _Please_. This one thing."

Shaky fingers found themselves in the mess of his wild hair, running themselves through it timidly. Kiba glanced up to see that Hinata was looking dow at him and shaking her head, her eyes brimming with water that kept pushing at her lids until they were freely falling down her pale cheeks in rivets.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

Again, the silent girl just shook her head as the tears traveled down her cheeks, gathered at the point of her chin, and dripped down to leave teardrop stains on her sheets.

Kiba stood up abruptly. "I'm trying Hinata, I really am but... I don't know how much longer I can do this." And with that, the Inuzuka turned and left the room.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun... Sasuke-kun... get _up," _The sickening voice of the snake sannin hissed at him. Moving with a deliberate slowness in an effort to piss off the serpent like man, Sasuke took his time rolling his shoulders back in a feline-like stretch before sitting up on the hard cement ground and tossing his ebony colored orbs on him.

"What?" he answered drolly.

Orochimaru narrowed his already slitted eyes at the misbehaving boy he called his student. "I said get up," he repeated through clenched teeth.

With the same lazy movements as he'd shown before, Sasuke stood up inside his cage and met Orochimaru's eyes through the bars. "Breakfast time already?"

"Hold your tongue."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Orochimaru had no sense of humor, but then again, no one had exactly accused the sannin of being a riot at parties. There was a reason why his hideout was a hermit's hole dug into the side of a mountai and his only peers were test subjects. He lacked charisma.

"_What_," Orochimaru seethed, "did you do to Kabuto?"

Sasuke smirked, a mischievous glint twinkling in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

A nerve seemed to pulse in the nomally calm Orochimaru's forehead around the same time that a vein popped out and became more prominent in his throat. Sasuke watched his blood boil with mild interest. "Don't mess with me, Sasuke-kun," he bit out, obviously trying to maintain his temper with the young Uchiha, "Or so help me, I'll-"

"-You will... _what_?" Sasuke baited him, knowin good and well that Orochimaru's insults fell flat. He had already done the very worst he was willing to do to the Uchiha prodigy. He had beaten him bloody, turned him into a vegetable, poisoned him so that he was sick for days, starved him ad kept him from water, tortured him, locked him in that forsaken _cage_... the list went on and on. But always right when Sasuke felt himself close to death, Orochimaru swept him back to the world of the living. It never failed, Orochimaru needed him too much. The snake sannin would not allow his prize to be lost to him after he spent so much time trying to win him, and unfortunately for him Sasuke knew that.

"Where. Is. Kabuto," Orochimaru repeated, allowing his previous threat to die on the air.

Sasuke smiled a sinister smile that was almost a mirrored image of the grin of the sannin. "He got too close."

He watched Orochimaru's eyes as they flickered around behind the bars landing on a single area of the cell where light from the torches outside of the cell shed light on the dim space. They landed on a crumpled heap of mass that lay motionless in the corner.

His eyes widened. "Is he..."

"No." The twinkle in Sasuke's eyes flashed again. "But he can be, if I don't get what I want."

Orochimaru narrowed hsi eyes at him, but otherwise looked inquisitive, not malicious. "What might that be, Sasuke-kun?"

"My freedom. I want out of this cage. I'm not an _animal_," Sasuke bit out.

"You can't be trusted. Especially now that you've grown stronger. You must take me as a fool, Sasuke."

Another flash appeared in the ebony eyes of the youth, yet this lacked the childlike mischief of before. "Then I'll kill him."

"Do it," Orochimaru snapped, calling his bluff.

Sasuke froze, his body growing rigid. His chest clenched tightly in his mouth, the teeth inside grinding painfully against one another. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to be so careless, especially with the medic nin who performed the body switch techniques that Orochimaru craved for his immortality. Without Kabuto, Orochimaru's prize was useless and he would surely die, and soon. But without Kabuto and without the promise of Orochimaru's own gain hanging in the balance, Sasuke's own life would be worthless to the sannin. Orochimaru would kill him without a second thought.

His body shook with pent up frustration until Sasuke screamed out in anger and inner turmoil. He reached out, wanting to snap the older ninja's neck with his bare hands, but Orochimaru simple side swiped him and stepped out of the reach of his grasp. The snake chuckled, knowing he won.

"Make sure Kabuto wakes up very soon, won't you Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru mocked him. Then he turned and waked away so gracefully that Sasuke doubted his damned feet touched the ground.

"Bastard," the Uchiha bit out.

* * *

**A/N ****Poor Sasuke, thwarted! And I wonder why Hinata stopped talking... Well, I don't, because I'm the author, but you probably do :)**

**And Naruto's back! And affectionate :)**

**Per usual, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns regarding the story, REVIEW!**


	29. Chapter 29

**I can't express how much I appreciate you guys :) Everytime I get a follow for this story, I try to give you all an update. Cuz I know how it feels to want to know what happens next and the Author doesn't update. Also, SHOUTOUT to**

**xBUzzOFF15x  
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And all the guests

**For reviewing last chapter :)**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Sakura sat up with a start. her heart hammering steadily in her ribcage and her breath coming in short gasps. Her eyes darted around her moonlight lit bedroom and tried to find something that would bring her frazzled mind back down to reality after that very _realistic _dream. A blush spread across her pale cheeks as she remembered how she could almost feel the touch of Naruto's lips against hers and sense the very real taste of ramen on his breath. His hands that had held her so firmly and securely in his arms... She could still feel the gentle carress of his fingers on the nap of her neck.

'_Dammit, Haruno,' _Sakura chastised herself, _'You were just one scene away from a wet dream there. Get a grip.' _

The reason she was so angry with herself was because that dream wasn't the first dream of its kind. On the contrary, she'd been having those kinds of dreams at least twice a month for the past sixth months, normally when a full moon was in the sky. As a medic nin and a strong believer in hard facts and logic, she was pressed to believe that the cycles of the moon had absolutely nothing to do with her dream content, but she'd read that the moon did have surprising effects on the minds of certain individuals. Granted, most individuals simply went insane and her only problems involved a blonde shinobi who she couldn't get out of her head at night, but there could be a link... If she believed in that sort of thing, that is.

She exhaled heavily and laid her head down on her pillow, closing her eyes although she knew it would probably be a long time before she was able to get any real sleep with that dream still fresh in her mind. She could already sense that tomorrow would be a very long, very tiring day for her.

"Dammit, Naruto. Come home so I can stop dreaming about you coming home," she grumbled into the empty air.

* * *

Sakura had been right the night before. Due to her inability to get back to sleep until around three that morning and then having to wake up bright and early at five for her shift at the hospital, she could safely say that she was exhausted. It wasn't even noon yet and she could feel her eyelids lowering over her seafoam green eyes whenever she got the briefest second to herself. So to keep herself from getting into trouble by falling asleep while working, she took the liberty of borrowing a couple of other medics' cases for the day to keep her busy and alert, which helped because Sakura was always at her most alert while she was working on a patient. As long as she continued overseeing the care of those who needed her, she was awake.

"Sakura, can I borrow you for a moment?"

Sakura winced right in the middle of checking a man's heartrate who had been having heart pains for weeks now, who looked frightened the second that the young medic prodigy winced while doing his exam. Sakura noticed and looked apologetic, telling him to pull his shirt back down as she turned to chastise whom had addressed her during her - self prescribed - busy day.

However, the words of admonishment died on her lips the second that she saw who was at the door waiting for her. "Shizune? What is it?" Normally her senior didn't grab her attention unless something was serious. "Is it an emergency?"

The black haired woman seemed to think over her words and try to choose them wisely. "It... depends on your definition of an emergency," she said carefully, her eyes glancing at the man sitting on the examination table. Clearly whatever she had to say couldn't be said in front of the civilian man. "Tsunade-sama wishes to see you."

Sakura nodded slowly, turning back to the man and patting his chest. "I'll have someone come in and take over where I left off, alright?" she assured him in her normally sweet tone. The man nodded and Sakura left the room with Shizune behind her.

"What does Lady Tsunade want at this hour? It's a little early in the day for a mission, don't you think?" observed the pink haired kunoichii simply trying to make small talk.

Shizune shot her a look that said everything that she needed to say without having to actually utter a word. They were konoha shinobi, there was no such thing as "too early in the day" for them. Whenever a mission arose for them to complete, they completed it. Especially as medic nin, it was their duty to be ready to be deployed at a moment's notice.

Sakura sighed, getting the hint and keeping silent for the rest of the journey to the Hokage tower. Once they reached Tsunade's office, Sakura knocked twice before allowing herself entrance with Shizune behind her.

"You requested me, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura began, glancing at her Shishou and not noticing the other group of people in the room at first, although it was only another moment before she realized she and her shishou weren't the only ones in the office. Glancing around she took note of the other shinobi standing against the walls and simply standing wherever there was room to fit: there was Kakashi, Sai, Neji, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Ino, and Choji. Just like her dream, the room was only short two familiar faces, other than Naruto who she never expected to see anyway.

"Ah, Sakura. Pleasure of you to join us," Tsunade greeted her, making her think that she was running a tad bit later than all the others and causng a light pink hue to spread itself over her face. "Now we can begin." In her legendary pose that suggested a subject of deathly serious proportions, Tsunade placd her elbows on the desk in front of her and bridged her hands together. "You each have been briefed on the topic of Uzumaki Naruto's resurrection, am I correct?"

Sakura tensed while the room was filled with a silent yet understanding agreement from each of the shinobi. Sakura swallowed hard and tried to figure out why Tsunade would call for a mass meeting with all of Naruto's friends on such short notice. Her stomach plummeted into her feet and icy water filled her veins as she contemplated what something like this could possibly mean. Had something happened to Naruto during his travels with Jiraiya-sama? She didn't even realize that on the othr side of the room, Hinata had tensed up as well.

"Did something happen to Naruto, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura blurted out, her mental exhaustion making her inable to filter her thoughts and process the information that maybe - just maybe - now was not the time to interrupt the Hokage.

Tsunade's amber eyes snapped onto the Haruno, causing the pinkette to realize her mistake. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened silently to offer some sort of apology that would satisfy the irate Hokage while her mind scrambled to correct her error. Sakura had trained beneath Tsunade for years, she knew how angry she could get. But before she could stammer out an excuse, the curtains hanging in front of the opened windows of the Hokage office ruffled impatiently, the movements too jerky to be a mere flap of the wind.

"Oi, Baa-chan, hurry it up, will you? I'll be eighty before you finish!" A recognizable voice bellowed from outside.

Sakura's heart froze. _'Dear Kami, not again!'_

Before she could even finish her thought, a blast of yellow and orange erupted from behind the curtains and entered the Hokage's office. And Sakura nearly fainted at the sight of the new arrival. Naruto, grinning as wide as a chestchire cat, stood directly behind Tsunade clad in a black and orange jacket that looked exactly like the one that Sakura had seen in her dream. His hair was longer than it was two years ago and now hung down over the black headband he wore in place of his old blue one. Absently, she wondered what had happened to it.

As she was watching him, she didn't even notice as his eyes scanned the room before finally landing on her shocked face. "Sakura-chan!" he shouted, "Did you get my messages?"

And upon his acknowledgment of her, Sakura really did faint.

* * *

Sakura woke up in her own home and in her own bed, tucked gingerly between the blankets. Her head rested comfortably on her sot white pillow, though there seemed to be one extra than she thought she'd originally had on her bed before she went to sleep last night. But she brushed off the feeling that something was out of place and climbed out of bed to get started on her day. But she paused when she noticed that she was already fully dressed, sans maybe her shoes.

'_Now I'm sleep walking to go along with my Naruto dreams? I need some professional help,' _she mentally groaned to herself. But at least being fully dressed kept her from needing to waste time changing into something presentable for work. She simply ran her fingers through her hair to get the knots out from her restless sleep and walked out of the bedroom to grab a quick breakfast onher way out the door.

But she paused when she saw who was seated comfortably on her living room couch eating a bowl of one of her instant ramens.

"Oi, Sakwa-chan!" Naruto bellowed around a mouthful of noodles. He must have realized how ridiculous and rude he seemed because he swallowed what was in his mouth before leaping from the couch and striding over to her. "You fainted in the Hokage's office! Are you alright? Shizune said that you were just surprised but I-!"

"You're not real, you're not real, you're not real," Sakura quickly started muttering to herself, grasping her temples in the palms of her hands. "I just need to wake up..."

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Naruto asked, clsoing the already short distance between them. He grasped her shoulder and felt her tense. Discouraged, he allowed for his hand to fall limply by his side. "Sakura-chan, what are you talking about? Of course I'm real. Why wouldn't I...?" His voice trailed off as something dawned on him - really, something that should have occured to him much sooner. She believed that she was dreaming and that he wasn't really there with her. He almost smiled at the joy of finding the solution to Sakura's problems. "I'm not a dream. I'm real, Sakura-chan! See, I'm me. Why would I send you another dream if I'm here?" he asked as if the mere suggestion was idiotic.

Sakura's ears twitched at that. She dropped her hands and looked up at the blonde shinobi stood beside her. "Send me... dreams? Naruto, what the hell are you talking about?" she asked, looking dangerously at the blonde. It didn't take her long to believe that her blonde former teammate was somehow behind the reason she couldn't sleep at night. _Of course _Naruto would find some way to cause trouble in her life, even when he wasn't in the village. Baka.

Naruto seemed to realize that he'd stumbled into dangerous territory. He backed up just enough to be out of range of her fury, holding his hands protectively in front of his face. "I-I ran into a Yamanaka a while back. He was an anbu and Pervy sage and I had kind of gotten in the way of his mission. But he wasn't so bad and after we helped him with his job a little, he taught me some jutsu. One being the...er...Yamanaka clan telepathy..."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "You aren't from that clan, Naruto. You can't use that jutsu," she muttered matter-of-factly.

Naruto continued to hold his hands in front of his body like a shield. "I-I know! I shouldn't be able to. But actually, the Yamanakas can give you the ability by touching your forehead. It's true!"

"You expect me to believe that you can now use a jutsu that only Yamanaka Inoichi has actually mastered? Ino can't even do that!" Sakura snapped at him. She was now fully convinced that Naruto was just a dream and her mind was underestimating its own intelligence. This was, by far, the most far fetched idea that her dreams had contained. Maybe she was going out of it.

Naruto backed away, nearly stumbling. For some reason, he no longer felt safe being so close to her. "I get that you don't believe me, but it's true! He touched my forehead and I could read Ero-sennin's mind! As long as he was touching my forehead."

"He touched your forehead just so you could use his clan's technique to send love dreams to your little girlfriend?" Sakura asked incredulously, not even realizing she made reference to herself.

Naruto knew he only had a short amount of time to come up with an appropriate response, otherwise Sakura would blow him off completely. "Well, no. Because the justu doesn't work that way. It isn't a dream infiltrator. But he _did _let me get a feel for it and helped me to develop a technique of my own. It was hard, but I just completed it a few months ago. And I knw you had to be worried about how I was doing, Sakura-chan. I just wanted to let you know I was alright. I though that you would understand what I was doing," he mumbled, looking down at his toes like a forsaken young child. The look didn't seem to fit him anymore. While he was still Naruto, he wasn't the Naruto that Sakura had said goodbye to two years ago. This Naruto was a full grown man, much taller than she was and probably even Sasuke was at this point. There wasn't anything childish about Naruto now.

Except the fact that he'd sent her wet dreams about him.

"Last night..."

Naruto smiled toothlessly at her. "I wanted to tell you that I was going to be home when you woke up," he said sweetly.

"I dreamed you kissed me. Did you have anything to do with that?" Sakura muttered, stepping dangerously close to the young blonde.

"I uh... I..."

"NA-RU-TO! You should know better than to invade other people's dreams, Baka!" She shouted, stretching her arm out far enough to grab him by the new jacket he wore.

"I didn't want you to worry, Sakura-chan!"

"I would have been just fine without you invading my thoughts and sexually harrassing me in my sleep!"

"I didn't think it would be harrassment if you were my girlfriend! I'm sorry!"

Sakura paused. She looked at the sweating and wincing expression of her knuckleheaded friend as he braced himself for the impact of her fist to his face. She slowly let go of his jacket, taking a step back from him. "Girlfriend? I'm not... Naruto we aren't..."

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, biting his lip. Unlike himself, he bashfully lowered his head and shuffled his feet back and forth. "I know that we aren't now. But I was hoping that if we were together enough in your dreams, it would happen. And even you just called yourself by girlfriend before!"

Sakura opened her mouth to dispute the allegation, but realized that she'd done exactly what Naruto accused her of. A blush spread over her cheeks. "I didn't mean literal girlfriend."

"Not yet."

The pinkette sighed. Her anger slowly faded in the presence of her determined and lovesick friend. "Naruto-kun, I don't know when I'd be able to be with you. Yes, I care for you, but I still don't know if I can truly trust you. You haven't been completely honest with me over the last five years, what with faking your identity and then stealing off in the middle of the night when you promised you'd stay with me. And not to mention you just tried to brainwash me into liking you back."

"I wasn't trying to-!"

"Regardless of what you were _trying _to do, you still decieved me. And I can't trust you. Maybe I can work up to it, but now isn't the time to ask," she said with such finality that Naruto dared not question it.

He simply hung his head. "Alright, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry."

Sakura bit her lip, staring at the poor guy. She did feel bad for turning him down. She couldn't deny that she did have feelings for Naruto, more than she cared to admit. But right then... she couldn't trust him. She hadn't been lying about that. Her heart was still wounded from his deception. Maybe one day she could look past it and trust him to be honest with her, but that wasn't today. Still, she didn't like him looking that way.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yes?" he asked forlornly.

"Would you... like to go to Ichiraku with me? I'm a little hungry. My treat!"

A slow grin spread over the whisker marked cheeks. "Definitely!"

* * *

**A/N To be clear, everything in that last chapter really happened except for Sakura seeing Naruto. That was the only dream part :) I'm sorry if its confusing.**

**Also, I would like to know when would be a good time to update. It would be helpful yo have a consistent time rather than just doing it when I feel like it. Cuz when I update too soon, I know some of you get lost in the chapter and then when I update too late, you forget where you were or you lose interest. So this would really be helpful if you told me a good time for you :P**

**Comments, questions, concerns? REVIEW!**


	30. Chapter 30

**SHOUTOUT to**

**Foxxel****  
sparklybutterfly42  
Silent Bunshin  
Deadman19  
Narusaku forever  
la canelle  
Chieko Namikaze  
Armyvet23  
ahmadaziz**

**For reviewing last chapter :)**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty**

Jiraiya sat in the Hokage's office across from Tsunade herself, where they both sat in silence. After introducing Naruto to his friends again to avoid any complications with his integration back into life in Konoha, they'd dismissed the young shinobi. Now, they were alone. He had tried to leave earlier to catch up with Naruto or maybe - most likely - do some research at the bath house but his former teammate made it very clear that she didn't want him to leave. Though, she hadn't said a word to him since they'd been left alone.

He anxiously tapped his fingers on top of his knee, looking over the desk at the harsh-eyed Hokage in front of him. "Tsunade..."

"No, you don't get to talk," Tsunade interrupted him. She sat up straighter in her chair from her position of leaning over the desk with her chin in her hands. Her eyes never left his. "You are not allowed to speak to me like I'm wasting your time after you _deliberately _went against my direct orders and took Naruto out of the village," she seethed.

Jiraiya sighed. He had a feeling that was what this was about. "I know what I did was wrong but-"

"No, you don't get to talk," she repeated sharply.

"I'm not even allowed to defend myself?"

"No." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't get to defend yourself because there isn't anything to _defend. _You were completely out of line, Jiraiya! I told you the course of action I wanted to take because I _respected _you and didn't want it to seem like I was going behind your back. But what did you do with that kindness? You threw it back in my face! You undermined my authority, snatched Naruto from under my nose before his wounds were even healed, and left the village before I even knew what was happening."

"Tsunade-!"

"_Shut up!_ I told you, you don't get to speak. You're just lucky I was rational enough not to send someone after the two of you and bring Naruto back kicking and screaming. I decided I would just let my anger at you feser until I could get my hands on you myself." Her fingers twitched and curled into fists above her desk, and Jiraiya's eyes flickered to them nervously. "I just can't believe that you would risk Naruto's life again so soon after we'd gotten him back. Not just because of his injuries, but the akatsuki..."

Jiraiya bowed his head. "I wasn't trying to undermine you, Tsunade. I was only doing what was best for my student and godson."

"You were doing what was best for _you._ You weren't considering Naruto's wellfare at all! You were being a brat because I was going to take him out of your primary care and tutelage and decided to steal him away to get your way. Did you ever even tell Naruto what would have been his future if he'd stayed instead of going with you? Does he even know what I was considering giving him?"

The gray haired sannin bowed his head, a shadow creeping over his face. "I didn't think it was necessary. It wasn't an option."

"See-!"

"But _not_ for the reasons that you think, Tsunade. I admit, my actions were selfish in the beginning, but I don't regret making them. If Naruto would have stayed in the village, it would have killed him."

"We really can't make judgments about his emotions when we-"

"_No._ It would have literally _killed him." _It was Jiraiya's turn to speak and show Tsunade that his decisions weren't entirely wrong. Maye it would improve her opinion of him if she knew a little bit about what the situation had become. "Naruto's seal was damaged before we left, and had been for quite some time. He doesn't know the specifics of when it began to deteriorate, but he'd become deathly ill from the effects. If he would have stayed here to be treated for it like any other 'tummy issues', Naruto would be dead. Again. And it wouldn't have taken two years to do it, I assure you."

Shocked and still not completely understanding how Jiraiya's explanation of a seal problem escalated to the blonde prankster's death so soon, she decided to get indignant and defensive. "I would have treated him if it got serious. I could have healed him-"

"You would have healed him with chakra. And that's what would have killed him."

* * *

Sakura stared at the blonde shinobi beside her as he shoveled mouthful upon mouthful of noodles into his gaping mouth. Going unnoticed by him, the pinkette began to scrutinize the appearance of her former teammate with the calculating eyes of a medic and a female, noting the differences in her friend that she'd missed in the Hokage's office earlier that day. She noticed that his skin was tanner, as if he hadn't spent a second indoors on his journey and spent the entire time training under the hot sun. But there weren't any freckles on his arms or dark marks in sight to mar the perfection of his skin. The ever-present whisker marks on his cheeks looked darker somehow and even more prominent than they had been before he left her. But they could always be her imagination... His hair was longer and he was of course taller, and his muscles were definitely more defined...

Suddenly Naruto paused in his eating and moved his face into the crook of his arm. He let out a single wet, heavy cough and went he pulled away, Sakura could see red on his sleeve.

She felt the color drain from his face in an instant._ 'No...'_ "You aren't... You aren't better," she whispered. But she was certain that he heard her with how closely they were sitting beside each other.

Naruto flinched slightly, then turned to look at her with the most solemn expression she had ever seen him wear. He shook his head slowly, then went back to his ramen. "There wasn't much that Ero-sennin could do." He smiled wryly. "He used the Five Element Seal so I couldn't harmonize with the Kyuubi's chakra, but that only stopped further damage to my body. There isn't anything he can do for what's already happening."

She was almost afraid to ask. But she felt that she needed to know. "What's already happening?" she asked softly.

"Chakra poisoning," Naruto answered softly.

* * *

"Chakra poisoning?" Tsunade repeated, looking at her former friend with disbelief. "I've never heard of it. Chakra depletion, yes, but being _poisoned_ by your own chakra?"

"It technically isn't his own." Jiraiya reached across the desk to grasp the bottle of sake between two skilled fingers and pour himself another cup. At some point while explaining the condition of his protege, Tsunade had subconsciously grabbed the bottle and began their age-old tradition of discussion over drinking. "It's that tenant of his who started it. You know the story, don't you?"

Tsunade nodded. She remembered. Naruto explained it to them shortly after awakening in the hospital. "Yes. The Kyuubi fed Naruto his chakra to heal him and keep him alive."

Jiraiya confirmed this with a slow nod of his own. "Yes. For two years, it constantly supplied Naruto with bijuu chakra alone, since Naruto couldn't exactly trade off with the kyuubi while he was unconscious the whole time. The seal just kept letting the Kyuubi's chakra leak through, making it weaker and weaker. For two years, the only substance Naruto had was the Kyuubi's nearly limitless supply of chakra."

Tsunade leaned forward on the desk. "I'm not understanding where the bad part comes in here. Naruto survived because of what that thing did for him."

"Survived, but at what cost? Come on, Tsunade-chan. You remember what that chakra did to his skin after five minutes in his four-tails mode, during that battle with Itachi. The burns..." Jiraiya led her on.

It seemed to click in her head. Tsunade covered her mouth with her hands, holding back an inappropraite gasp for a Hokage. "That chakra was festering inside his body for nearly three years. Kami, the kyuubi probably thought it was doing him good..."

"When it was only prolonging his death. And making it more painful."

The room was overcome with a tense and solemn silence as a mourning for the still alive young man fell over them.

Finally, Tsunade spoke. "How long does he have?" she forced herself to ask quietly. She had tried to create the most impersonal and distant tone she could manage when addressing the issue, but she failed. She sounded like a worried relative... maybe even a mother.

A sigh escaped the old man. "I'm not even sure of that. I managed to slow it down using the Gogyoy Fuuin but it didn't heal him. He isn't better, but the Kyuubi's chakra isn't leaking through from the seal any longer and causing him too much pain. His body is still failing him and he's still sick, but I've trained him to work through the aches." He downed the sake in one swallow. "I think he's stronger because of his pain, though."

Tsunade didn't need Jiraiya to explain that. She understood. But it still didn't make her handle this change of events any better than she did. She felt absolutely terrible and heartbroken and _weak _because she didn't know how to help him. She was the best medical ninja in the known world and yet she couldn't figure out how to help the one young man she cared about the most.

"What have you done so far to help him?" Tsunade whispered, her throat suddenly dry.

"I just explained it to you. That's all I can do. I don't know anything else."

* * *

Sakura felt like flinging herself into Naruto's hands as soon as he'd recalled his whispered tale towards disappointment for her. But she restrained herself, knowing that Naruto wouldn't want her to cause a scene. Especially since he'd been so careful to keep quiet about his illness so that the warm-hearted Teuchi wouldn't overhear him. But she didn't know what else to do, so she slid her hand across the countertop until it firmly grasped his.

Shocked, Naruto swiftly turned to her. "Sakura-chan..."

"I promise I won't let you die, Naruto-kun. I don't care what it takes or what I have to sacrifice, I'm going to get you better. So don't worry alright?" She found herself assuring him with enough vigor to convince even herself that she was able to do it.

"S-Sakura-chan," Naruto stammered.

"I'm a little disappointed, though." She let her fingers unclasp his and turn away to focus on her own unfinished bowl of ramen in front of her. "Since Jiraiya-sama didn't make you better the way you thought, you could have really stayed the night with me instead of leaving halfway through." She smiled mischievously down into her own bowl.

She felt Naruto sputter beside her. "S-Sakura-chan, that's not fair to just bring that up like that! If I thought I could have stayed, I would have, I swear. But I was scared and even then I still had the brain of a thirteen year old and I didn't know how to handle everything and - "

"Calm down, Baka. I was only kidding you," Sakura replied to his flushed speaking. "I'm a little angry, but I understand. I might not have understood back then, but I understand now. I'm older too, remember?"

Naruto smiled at her. And then his cheeks began to brighten. "But um, Sakura-chan, there's this one thing I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I've been gone a while and my apartment building kind of got torn down and - "

"Hey, Naruto!" A voice shouted a little way's off. It was no more than about ten feet away from the two of them. Naruto turned to face the new arrival with raised blonde eyesbrows. When he caught sight of the young heir to the Inuzuka clan approaching them with a barely masked air of bravado, he became even more curious. "Kiba? Didn't I just see you?"

Kiba smiled and stopped directly in front of the two former teammates. He snorted goodnaturedly. "Yeah, but only for three seconds before you rushed off with Haruno over here. You didn't even acknowledge the rest of us in the room, even though most of us haven't seen you in five years, let alone two. Kind of rude of ya if you think about it that way, don't you think? Brushing all of your friends off like that."

Although the words were said in a way that would suggest playfulness, Naruto could still sense the hurt behind the words. Yes, at the time when he rushed off with the unconscious Haruno he'd been worried about her, but he hadn't really taken the opportunity to say hello to his childhood friends who probably missed him about as much as he missed them. He understood that it was a little unkind to brush them off. "I'm sorry, Kiba. I didn't mean for it to come off like that. I definitely thought I'd catch up with you guys later. I was just worried about Sakura-chan. You know how I can be." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

Kiba rolled his eyes and slid his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, whatever. But because of you running off like that, I didn't get a chance to challenge you like I wanted to."

"Challenge me?"

The young Inuzuka nodded. "Yeah. I haven't fought you since the chuunin exams, and I'm not too proud to say you kicked my ass. But it's been five years and we've both gotten so much stronger. Hell, I might even be better than you now. Yeah, you trained with a sannin but you've only been conscious for two in a half years of those five. I, on the other hand, am a mentally fully functioning adult. You're more of a... kid still, right? Fifteen at best, and I know how I was at fifteen." Kiba smirked. "I think I could kick your ass with my critical thinking skills."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You know you were never that bright to begin with, right Kiba? I mean, at best, you've always been an idiot. And this is coming from me. I don't think any thinking on your part is going to give you much of an advantage over an eleven year old, let alone a 'fifteen year old'." He did the air quotes. "But if you just want to test it out, sure, I'll spar you."

Sakura gaped at the blonde's response for a couple of different reasons. One, because his reply was actually well thought out and articulated without making himself look like an idiot, per usual. And two, because he had accepted an invitation to spar after he just told her that he was dying and his body hurt and all of the things that went with it. On top of that, Naruto _just_ got home! He had been traveling for only Kami knows how long and he hadn't exactly gotten a moment to rest since he'd gotten there. "Naruto..." Sakura began to warn him, touching the jacket-clad upper arm of her teammate. Her lithe fingers wrapped around a solid and large bicep, her medical knowledge not even necessary to determine that there was a significant mass of muscle there.

Naruto just smiled at her, knowing what she was going to say. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I have it under control. I want you to see what I can do anyway. I think it will make you feel better," he replied. He turned back to Kiba and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can pick the venue."

"Heh, sweet. Okay, I got the perfect choice in mind. Follow me." The Inuzuka turned and started walking back down the road where he came, but Naruto didn't follow right away. He turned back to his coolling ramen that he hadn't touched since telling Sakura his tragic hero story and gulped the bowl down so fast that Sakura was convinced that he didn't even bother swallowing - the ramen probably just flickered into his stomach.

Naruto held his hand out to her, just as Kiba realized that they weren't following. "Hey lovebirds, come on! I haven't got all day! I got shit to do with my life, too!" he barked.

Naruto and Sakura blushed at the term "lovebirds", but Sakura still took Naruto's hand in hers. "Coming, Kiba!" Naruto shouted back.

* * *

The three young shinobi stood on the earth of the third training ground, and Naruto just let the place sink in for a second. The training ground brought forth so many emotions for him all at once; it was connected to some of the best of his genin training. This was where Team 7 first began to come together as a team in the bell test, and where Hinata gave him the courage he needed to defeat Neji in the chuunin exams. This was where some of his best victories began.

Kiba stood opposite him, his unnaturally large canine companion beside him. Naruto still couldn't wrap his mind around how big Akamaru had gotten when he was so tiny during the chuunin exams. Now, the dog looked like it could swallow him whole. But Naruto tried not to let that get to him.

"Ready?" Naruto asked once Sakura retreated to a safe distance on the edges of the training field like Naruto told her to.

The Inuzuka smirked. "I've been ready for years. Let's go!"

Kiba ran at Naruto, fist bared, just trying to get a glimpse at what Naruto was going to do to avoid it. He didn't have a far distance to travel, but it still confused him when the Uzumaki didn't make a move to evade or sidestep him at all. He stood stock still and watched him approach until he was a foot away and driving his fist towards his whiskered face.

In a movement so quick that Kiba's eyes couldn't follow it, Naruto caught the attacking fist in his own hand without so much as moving another inch of his body. Kiba stared with wide eyes as Naruto gave him a foxy grin, squeezing the Inuzuka's fist tightly between his fingers. He knew without even trying that attempting to pull his arm free could result in him losing the use of that arm in this spar.

"That isn't going to work," Naruto said simply. Kiba registered a blur of his opponent that suggested that he was moving, but again Naruto was too fast for the human eye to follow. Even Kiba's eyes. The one thing that Kiba knew, in the one split second of Naruto's move, that he hadn't moved far and was still gripping his hand. Meaning he was going to counterattack, not simply retreat. But before this thoughts could become any more than floating, disembodied thoughts in his mind, a harsh kick was landed to the middle of his abdomen and he felt his body sailing through the air as the oxygen flew from his lungs.

He landed with a thud and skid a few dozen feet from his opponent. Gasping and shocked at how quickly that last attack had gone wrong, he grasped his stomach and staggered back to his feet. He looked across the battle field, seeing Naruto standing in the same place he was standing before. He was smiling and didn't look nearly as ruffled as Kiba felt himself. He didn't even look like Kiba had attacked him at all and was waiting for the battle to start.

'_Bastard,' _Kiba thought. He stood up straighter and began to reanalyze his opponent. '_Okay, so he's faster than I thought. Close range attacks won't work, he'll only evade them. No Taijutsu. I can deal with a ninjutsu battle. I can tear through any number of shadow clones he can make with fang rotating fang. No problem.'_

"Akamaru!" Kiba called to his trusty canine companion, still awaiting orders from his master. The dog ran to his side in no time, tongue lolling from his mouth pleasantly. Kiba gave the dog a pat on the head and turned to glance back at his opponent. But he was gone.

_'The hell? Where'd that bastard go!?'_ Kiba shouted in his mind, just as a something that felt strangely like a tree root grasped at his ankle. Kiba jerked and pulled at his leg, only to have the grip tighten until he feared his ankle would be ground to dust under his skin. He looked down to inspect the intrusion only to find that it wasn't a root grasping at him, but a single hand. _'Naruto!'_

"Think long thing wrong! **Doton: Moguragakure no jutsu**!" the earth cried out. Kiba gasped just as his body was pulled beneath the earth at lightening speed. For a moment, he feared that Naruto would accidentally suffocate him underground, forgetting that this was only a spar and killing the enemy wasn't the goal. But Naruto only pulled him down just below his neck so his head was exposed. Beneath the earth, he could feel the earth was soft like sand, but was slowly beginning to harden. Naruto's own body reappeared across from him, his own head exposed beneath the earth. Now, Kiba was sure that the blonde was only messing with him.

"Sorry, Kiba," the blonde apologized with that fox-like grin. "But I couldn't let this turn into a ninjutsu battle. You understand, don't you?"

"Don't patronize me, you bastard!" Kiba shouted disdainfully. "Akamaru!"

The earth pounded with the sound of the padding steps of the nin-dog. Like before, Naruto stayed put until the dog was within inches of tearing his body from the earth before he slipped back below ground level. Kiba searched with his eyes for the fast blonde who continued to evade him. He figured the idiot would keep playing wack a mole until Akamaru found him. They would just wait it out.

He felt the earth shift around him again, not softening but moving. He shot out of the air like a rocket, landing back above ground, but still trapped in what he could only describe as a cylindrical earth prison.

Naruto appeared beside him, kunai at his throat. "Just say I win and I'll stop embarrassing you in front of Sakura-chan."

Kiba growled. "Stop patronizing me!" he shouted as Akamaru seemed to come out of nowhere and take a bite out of Naruto's leg. The blonde gasped and dropped the kunai before the nin-dog sent the shinobi flying away from it's master. Then it went about whimpering and clawing at Kiba's trap.

"Ouch!" Naruto murmured in the distance before a gentle pop was heard. Kiba knew the sound well and had been expecting it. He looked around for the new Naruto, eyes narrowed as Akamaru managed to free one side of his body and moved over to start on the other.

"**Clone spinning axe kick!**" Naruto shouted from above. Kiba looked up just in time to see a barrage of clones falling from the air at him, all aiming for his exposed head. However Akamaru was a good dog and protected his master well, chomping and tossing clones left and right.

"**One Thousand Years of Death!**" Another voice shouted directly before the attack came. And the second that it was delivered, Kiba felt as if he'd need a warm bath and a few hours alone after the spar was over. After the initial shock of the attack, he felt the earth crumble and crack around him and his body was sent flying into the air for the third time that day. He closed his eyes to brace himself for impact and covered his face with his hands just before hitting a tree. His body sent it crashing to the ground, just as he crumbled also.

"I win," Naruto shouted from across the training ground.

Kiba didn't dispute. He held up two fingers and leaned against the remaining tree trunk as Akamaru came over and tried to console him.

* * *

**A/N This was more of a goof battle. I didn't really want it to last long, but kind of show you how fast Naruto's gotten while hinting at some of his disadvantages, too. Did you get them all? :)**

**Also, this chapter was more informative and filler than anything. I'll move the story along next chapter. Comments, questions, concerns?**

**REVIEW!**


	31. Chapter 31

**SHOUTOUT to**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
Eto117  
Deadman19  
Foxxel  
Silent Bunshin  
ahmadaziz  
SparklyButterfly42**

**For reviewing last chapter :) You make my day :)**

**Also, if anyone's wondering in regards to jutsu names, I'm going to switch back and forth between english and japanese, depending on how lazy I feel or which I like best. Just a heads up.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One**

Naruto stood in triumph, staring across the battlegrounds at the once-cocky and now defeated young Inuzuka. Despite the fact that the battle had been over for about five to ten minutes, Kiba had yet to move from his slumped position on the ground. Akamaru sat whimpering beside his master as if Kiba was actually hurt and not just whining about a trick jutsu. He kept muttering something along the lines of "losing the innocence in his butt".

Naruto was getting annoyed with Kiba's crybaby act. If he kept it up, Sakura might think that he went too hard on him and then she'd think he was a bully now. He hadn't even been trying his hardest in that spar. "Oh, come on, Kiba. Stop whining. I didn't even-" He found himself stopping dead in his tracks on his way to admonish Kiba. His entire body froze up as a single pain shot through his chest like a dozen needles digging into his heart. He gasped, eyes growing wide as he gripped the cloth above his chest and sank to his knees. "Agh," he choked, liquid bursting up his throat and spurting from his mouth in red, salty splashes. It wasn't much, way less than the most that he'd ever seen himself choke up, but it still coated his chin and the once lush, green grass in front of him.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted from the sidelines where he'd told her to stay. Unfortunately, she disregarded anything he told her before and came rushing at him. He barely had time to stagger back to his feet before Sakura was by his side and holding onto his arm gingerly. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He gave her the best smile he could muster while the aches and jolts of pain were still attacking his heart. It hurt, but he could deal with it. He had come to terms with his pain and had almost come accustomed to feeling it. He'd be okay soon. "I'm alright, Sakura-chan. I just must have overdone it without realizing it." He tried to laugh, but it only ended up sending another wave of hurt through his system and made him wince.

Sakura, for good reason, didn't look convinced. "Maybe we should get you to Tsunade..."

"What's wrong?" Kiba asked, appearing beside the duo with his trusty companion beside him. He didn't look at all like the injured party that he was trying to portray earlier, besides the fact that he was "descreetly" covering his butt with his hands.

Naruto looked over at Kiba and grinned to the best of his abilities. "Nothing. I just overdid the exercise. I haven't napped since I got back to the village. My body's kind of protesting," he joked. He did his best to stand up straight, but it was obvious that he needed to put forth an effort to do so. His body stood riggid like a rubberband pulled too tightly. "Sakura-chan's worrying for nothing."

"Nothing?" Sakura repeated, eyes wide in shock. Naruto just coughed up blood and he was calling that _nothing_?

Naruto shot her a look, one of the firmest looks that she'd ever gotten from him. His mouth set in a firm line and his eyes got somewhat... hard. "Yes, nothing," he repeated sternly.

Shocked into silence, Sakura had no choice but to agree. She nodded slowly at the Inuzuka, though she continued to stare into the deep cerulean eyes of Naruto.

Kiba looked confused, staring between the two of them. "Well, maybe you should head home or something. I didn't mean to kick your ass _that_ bad, Uzumaki. I don't want you running around telling everyone I beat you into getting sick."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because I'd definitely tell them that. I'll see you later, Kiba. If you see Hinata and Shino, tell them I can't wait to catch up with them, alright?"

Kiba nodded and started walking in the direction back to the center of Konoha. "Yeah, I'll do that. I think I'm going to go see Hinata now. I'll tell her you said 'hey'. Take it easy, baka!" And then he was running off.

No sooner than Kiba left did Naruto allow his body to slump, forcing Sakura to catch him and hold him up.

* * *

Kiba stood outside the door of the Hyuga household, arms crossed as he tried his best to stare down the family head, Hiashi, who currently stood in his way of entering the home.

"She won't be seeing you today, Kiba. She isn't feeling well."

Kiba kept his eyes firm and tried to resist the urge he had to roll his eyes at the man in front of him. Every day he was met with some new excuse for why Hinata didn't want to see him. Once, Hiashi had tried to say that Hinata had flat out told him that she didn't want to see him that day, but Kiba knew better. Hinata hadn't uttered a breath in two years. She wouldn't waste them on telling her father that she didn't want to see him.

"Why do you have such a problem with me, if I may ask, sir?" Kiba forced himself to bite out politely. He wanted - no, _needed - _to tell Hinata about the day's events. She would want to know.

Hiashi looked over his shoulder, then back at Kiba. "Because I know how you feel about my daughter, and it's unnatural. Hinata does not feel the same about you and it sickens me when I see a _dog_ like you sniffing around her, waiting for the moment to pounce. I refuse to allow you to corrupt her good name."

"What do you care?" Kiba snapped at him, blood boiling in his veins. He clenched his fists at his sides and glared up at the selfish bastard of a father in front of him. "You're just going to marry her off anyway so you can be rid of her. Why not let me be the one you give her to?"

"I won't have our blood, even _her _blood, marred and tainted by that of a beast like you. You're unfit and it would be an embarrassment to my clan if I allowed such a thing to happen."

"What the fu-!"

A voice cleared its throat by the door, and Kiba immediately snapped his mouth shut. He knew who that was almost instantly. Being one of the only sounds she ever made now, he'd grown accustomed to it as if it was her actual voice. He peered around the massive and intimidating figure of Hiashi to spot the small and fragile form of Hinata standing behind him. He almost whooped for joy.

"Hinata!" he cried, relieved to see her.

She smiled softly, but her father grasped her shoulder and forced the smile to disappear. "Hinata, go back to your room," he ordered.

Hinata shook her head, which was saying something since before she grew silent she was almost never able to refute what her father wanted her to do. She always agreed. But since literally losing her voice she had somehow found her will. She gently removed her father's hand and dropped it as she reached around him to grasp at Kiba's instead. She silently beckoned for him to enter the home and Kiba nodded, following her inside. Before he began the journey down the hall and to Hinata's room, he flashed an indignant look back at Hiashi.

They walked into Hinata's room and Kiba watched as Hinata got comfortable on her own bed. Kiba knew better than to join her there, even just sitting. If Hiashi didn't poke his head in, then Neji would, and neither of them were very big fans of Kiba even being in Hinata's room let alone on her bed. So he remained standing against the wall.

She looked at him expectantly, wondering why he'd visited. Kiba shifted against the wall, now unsure if this was the best of ideas. Sure, he was filled with bravado at the door and was certain that this news was something that Hinata would want to hear and somehow it would cure her of her silence, but now he was wondering if it would just make things worse.

He bit his lip. "How are you today?" he asked.

Hinata smiled gently, a smile that had the ability to brighten Kiba's whole day up. It was so fragile and perfect in his eyes that it still amazed him that she was willing to share something so valuable with him. But that was the only answer that he got. He took it to mean that she was doing well.

After the loss of her words, Hinata didn't stick around after training with their team despite the fact that she never spoke many words before. She normally waited for Kurenai to dismiss them and then would leave, barring any complications like Kurenai's adorable son invading their session for some "needed" attention. Only then might Hinata stay and let the toddler play in her hair or climb over her shoulders as if she was a jungle gym. But as soon as the little one was tuckered out, she would leave again. So Kiba very rarely got to interact with Hinata unless he came to see her, which her father was adamant about not allowing to happen too frequently.

She raised her delicate eyebrows, which Kiba understood as her asking him the same. "I'm good," he answered. "I just got out of a sparring match, actually. Kicked some ass," he lied. But he didn't necessarily have to tell the truth here. He was only baiting her. Which she fell for, raising her eyebrows again in question. "Who? Oh, um..." He pretended to hink about his opponent when in all actuality he was deciding on the matter of revealing this information to her. "Why didn't you come to the meeting in the Hokage's office today?" he asked, changing the subject and buying himself a little bit of time.

Hinata sighed to herself and flopped back on her bed in her best attempt at a dramatic flair. She closed her eyes and raised her hand, waving it around her room. Kiba looked around for a moment, confused, before he understood. Her father had found some excuse to keep her in the home so that she couldn't make the meeting. He didn't like Hinata being out and about where people could see her in all of her silent glory. A mute daughter was dishonorable in his eyes.

"I say this with the utmost respect, but I really don't like your dad," he muttered, pressing his back against the wall. He slid down until his butt rested against the floor of her room. He stared up at her, only able to see her legs with the way she was laying down. "Well, you should have come. We got some exciting news," he baited her again.

Hinata sat up straight again and looked down at him curiously. Again, her eyebrows raised. Kiba could tell that she would only put up with this one sided conversation for a little while longer before she became frustrated with him. He knew she wouldn't answer, so the pauses in between sentences as if she would fill the empty space with words was unnecessary. But Kiba just wanted her to know that he still valued her input and interaction, no matter if she answered him or not.

He smiled. "Oh you know... Naruto."

Hinata sat up straight, eyes seeming to glow at the mention of the blonde's name. It panged Kiba's heart to see her getting so excited about another boy. Why couldn't she get that look on her face when it was _him_? What was so special about _Naruto_?

Still, he continued his explanation. "He's back from his trip with Jiraiya, but he's still an idiot. I mean, you'd think he'd grow up a little being in the presence of a sannin, but no. Not in the least. He's got this one jutsu - " He stopped himself, shaking his head. He wouldn't go there.

Hinata clambored off her bed and came to kneel beside him on the floor. Her long raven hair fell over the sides of her face, though it barely masked the bright smile she wore. Kiba could see that she was happy. More happy than he had seen her in a long time. Years.

He smiled sadly and reached up, touching her face as Naruto played second fiddle in his mind to her. She stared at him in puzzlement, looking from him to the hand that cupped her cheek as gently as one might cup a butterfly in their hands. She turned her eyes back to Kiba's to find them shimmering.

"You do love him, don't you?" he asked. Her eyes got wide and she clambored back, away from his touch. She stared at him in shock, but Kiba felt that she hadn't even heard him say the most stunning things yet.

"Just tell me," he ordered her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her lips quivered and parted to the point that Kiba felt as if she might actually _say _something to him for once. But her mouth snapped shut again in an instant and her lips pressed into a firm line. She shook her head but Kiba could tell that she was refusing to answer him rather than refuting the question of her love.

He cursed, slamming his own head against the wall. The thud went unnoticed by him; it was nothing compared to the thud in his own ribcage as he heart went into overdrive. "Just tell me," he repeated, closing his eyes. He didn't need to look at her to know that she shook her head again.

* * *

Sakura sat cross legged in the field with Naruto's head in her lap. They hadn't made it to Tsunade. After Naruto had collapsed against her, they had both gone to the ground. Naruto had gone to sleep instantly and Sakura, upon seeing how peaceful he looked when he was in so much pain earlier, couldn't find it in herself to move him. She only pulled his head into her lap and watched him sleep.

At first, there had been silent tears as she stared at his resting face. Something so beautiful and kind didn't deserve to go through what he was going through. Someone with a heart as pure as Naruto's didn't deserve to have their lifespan cut short so suddenly - and even if it was cut short, they shouldn't have to know that they were going to die.

But after she had cried for him, she took another look at his face and forced herself to take in how much older he looked. At eighteen, Naruto looked every bit like the grown man that he was. When he was playing Noboru, Sakura remembered seeing him and imagining that there was something genuinely young about that boy - he looked sixteen, but he behaved and acted no older than thirteen years old. An when he had left with Jiraiya, Sakura half expected that same young boy to return in all of his youthful glory. But instead she was met with this grown man who was stronger than she could imagine and had grown up so fast. Naruto wasn't just the bratty little dorky friend that she'd had as a young girl. He was a man... a kind, sweet, beautiful man who she didn't deserbe the affection of.

And yet here she was neglecting his heart again. She'd told herself shortly after Naruto's funeral that if she had gotten a second chance she wouldn't ever treat Naruto the same way that she did. She told herself that she would never take the blonde's affections for granted or reject him again because she knew she would regret it. Sakura had promised never to do that to _anyone_ ever again simply because she never knew when someone was going to get ripped from her life. She never knew how much time she had with them.

Except now. Now she knew how much time she had, and it wasn't much. And yet she was wasting that time trying to teach him a lesson when she knew how she felt. What good would that lesson do either of them when Naruto was dead? This was time they should have been spending together, since more than five years was already wasted and could never be gotten back. She shouldn't waste anymore.

* * *

Kiba looked across the room where Hinata had scooted herself to get further and further away from him. And it hurt him, but he needed to see it. Maybe it would help him heal if he could only burn the memory of her trying to get away from him into his mind.

"You do, don't you? You love Naruto."

Hinata held her arms around herself in a vice. Even from the distance between them Kiba could see the whites of her knuckles and the blues of her veins as she held onto herself tightly. Her teeth bit so deeply into her lip that when she shifted her mouth even the tiniest inch, Kiba could see specks of blood. She was being so violent towards herself but Kiba was the one that felt it.

Finally, she nodded. And Kiba felt his own heart shatter into a million pieces. But he didn't get up to go the way that he wanted to. He still had something he wanted to know.

"Is that why you wouldn't say it back? That you loved me, too?" he asked softly, looking at her.

_"Hinata... please," Kiba begged, allowing his disheveled head to fall limply into the lap of the silent girl. "J-just say one thing. Please. This one thing."_

Hinata looked at him and he could see that her own eyes were shimmering. He hadn't meant to make her cry. This visit wasn't supposed to be like this at all. It just turned down a bad path. But regardless, she nodded.

And the last piece of Kiba's heart broke and filled his veins with ice water. Silently, he stood up and opened the door to leave. He looked over his shoulder once, opened his mouth to say something, and then thought better of it annd simply left. Hiashi would be happy to know that this was probably his last visit to see her.

* * *

**A/N WOOHOO! It didn't take me very long to do this at all. So what do you think, weekly updates or is this still not fast enough? Let me KNOOOOOW. **

**Comments questions concerns? REVIEW.**


	32. Chapter 32

**SHOUTOUT TO**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
Foxxel  
Deadman19  
ahmadaziz  
Silent Bunshin  
Ikeda Michiko**

**For reviewing last chapter. I really love your input and I'm not ashamed to say that it gets my writer's adrenaline pumping to see new reviews. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 32**

Naruto awoke in a daze, feeling like his whole body had been drained of all energy. His muscles felt like weights under his skin and trying to move his body was a hassle. He couldn't breathe, but then again, he didn't have to breathe where he knew that he was. There was only one place where he woke up feeling like this.

**"Kit," **the monstrous voice of the Kyuubi boomed into his ears. It was clear that the bijuu was trying to scare him into looking at him. But he knew this fear tactic all too well having the fox inside of him for so many years. He decided not to answer. He continued to lie down on his back and stare up at the vast space of empty darkness that made up the ceiling of his captive's cage. But being ignored never settled well with the demonic beast. **"Kit! Answer me, boy!" **it roared.

Naruto kept his mouth shut and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes. Eventually, Kyuubi would go away. He always went away when Naruto didn't answer him. His ego was too massive just to sit there shouting to himself for any given amount of time. The bijuu would get bored very soon and let him go. He always did. **"I'm growing tired of these games, Uzumaki brat," **the Kyuubi's voice growled sinisterly. But Naruto wasn't afraid. As big as Kyuubi appeared behind the bars of his prison, Naruto knew that it was impossible for the fox to hurt him. He was all talk. **"Uzumaki!"**

Naruto rolled so that his back faced the sinister face of the beast. When he was younger he wouldn't have dared to do such a thing. But, as was said before, Naruto didn't fear it anymore. He didn't fear much of anything anymore. His life was going to end soon anyway, who cared how he died?

The Kyuubi's voice became somewhat softer, which was surprising for such an intimidating creature. **"I didn't mean for this to happen, Kit. I was only trying to help you."**

_'You were trying to help yourself,'_ Naruto couldn't help himself from thinking in his own head. Unfortunately, this _was_ his head, so the words of his mind echoed off the walls of the Kyuubi's domain as if he'd shouted them down a tunnel.

The Kyuubi obviously heard. **"I'm not Kurai, Kit. I never meant for you to be hurt."**

But Naruto didn't believe him. He didn't believe a word that he said. There were three people in his head - Kurai, the fox, and him - and one of the three people wanted to take over his body and two of the three people were adamant that it was the other one that was trying to do it. He couldn't trust either one of them, since they both hurt him at some point and then _claimed_ to have a change of heart about him. And he didn't want to trust Kyuubi, because he had basically brought him back to the world of the living only to kill him again. It was like waving a treat in front of a starving dog only to rip it away again. It was cruel.

**"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have done it this way. I'll die too," **Kyuubi protested as if he could hear his thoughts again.

Naruto mentally scoffed. That was a lie and both of them knew it. He didn't even know why Kyuubi would say something like that. Naruto knew for a fact that the seal was weakening significantly as the days went by. Soon he wouldn't be strong enough to keep it up by himself. Jiraiya had promised to intervene then, but Naruto didn't know what the sannin expected to do to stop the inevitable. His life would end and the Kyuubi could free himself right before the problem. Knowing the older shinobi in his life and his friends, they would be fighting to try to stop his death rather than trying to stop the Kyuubi from getting free. If Tsunade was smart, she'd start trying to find someone, anyone, to take his place. Honestly, he would prefer it if the Kyuubi would just die inside of him when he died and he wouldn't have to burden another human child with this beast, but he knew what was realistic. Maybe Tsunade could seal the bijuu into a jar or something, like the Shukaku was before it was sealed in Gaara...

**"Kit..." ** the Kyuubi tried again to no avail. Naruto was determined not to answer him. As close as he would have once thought himself growing to the bijuu, he didn't feel that towards him anymore. He couldn't trust him.

* * *

Sasuke awoke in the mid afternoon, Kabuto now extracted carefully from his cell. He was awake when Orochimaru got a few of his "followers" to do it, but he pretended to be asleep. He wanted to see what they would do to creep around the dangerous entity of Orochimaru's precious "Sasuke-kun". And it almost amused him to see the rope they lassoed around the medic-nin's ankle to pull him out with. They never stepped a foot in his cell, only pulled Kabuto out by his ankle.

So now Sasuke was alone and trying to find his next plan to get Orochimaru to let him out of his cell. He had been there for the better part of two years, after he'd gotten better from the mental breakdown he he over his fallen former comrade from the Leaf. But Sasuke was an Uchiha, and Uchihas didn't like to be caged. The snake sannin's treatment of him was unacceptable, and he would get out. As soon as Orochimaru slipped up he would free himself and unleash the wrath of an avenging soul on him.

He might have failed in his last attempt to kill Orochimaru, but he was foolish then. He was on the brink of his insanity and thought that he could kill a sannin after only a few days under his tutelage. He was stupid to think that the little amount of jutsus that Orochimaru had made him memorize with his sharingan was all that the snake man knew. And even so, Orochimaru had _mastered_ those jutsus without a sharingan. He was no match for the old bastard.

But now Sasuke was coolheaded. He was just as calculating and sinister as Orochimaru was himself. He'd studied him over the past few months and could tell that he was cracking. His body was growing weak... _weaker_. He would need Sasuke's body very soon. And when he came for it, Sasuke would strike.

* * *

Naruto woke up to his body aching once again but this time it was the normal soreness that he felt. He groaned and shifted, wanting to get the kinks out of his muscles. When he didn't move for any given amount of time his muscles tended to stiffen up on him like a a dead man's. And it was a bitch to get his body loose again. But as he moved he sensed eyes on him and finally opened his eyes to look around. Sakura was looking at him and watching him as he reawakened. Her seafoam green eyes were soft and thoughtful and a gentle smile adorned her beautiful porcelain face. Naruto couldn't help but smile back. "Hey," he murmured, sitting up and getting off of her lap.

Sakura let him move and shifted so that they were facing one another. "Hey. Did you sleep well?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah," he lied. He wouldn't tell her about the Kyuubi. Very few people even knew that he used to have conversations with him. He wouldn't worry Sakura with it, it would only scare her. "How long was I out?"

Sakura looked up at the sky and the sun's position. "About two hours. I would have taken you to see a medic but you looked peaceful enough. I decided to let you rest."

"Thanks."

She nodded and leaned back on her hands. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Uh yeah, sure. What is it?" he asked.

Sakura bit the corner of her lip and looked thoughtful before asking, "Why didn't you want me to tell Kiba that you weren't feeling well? You looked angry when I almost told him you were hurting."

"I... Well..." Naruto pursed his lips and furrowed his brows, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. "I just don't want anyone to know."

"Why not? Are you afraid that they won't support you? Because Naruto we all - "

Naruto shook his head vigorously in denial. "No, it's not that. I know you guys care, but that's the problem. I don't want anyone to worry about me. I didn't even want you to worry about me, and I wouldn't have told you if you hadn't seen me..." he didn't finish. He shrugged his shoulders and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't want to be a burden on anyone's mind, you know?"

"No, I don't. You wouldn't have told me?" Sakura asked dubiously. She looked almost irritated.

Naruto fidgeted. "Well... no. I didn't want you to worry."

"You would just keep me in the dark about this? Thinking everything was okay while you're slowly dying inside?"

"Y-Yeah. I didn't want you to worry about me," Naruto repeated dumbly. Had he said the wrong thing? He thought Sakura would actually like it that he didn't want to make her worry about him. It meant he cared about her, right? What did he do wrong?

"But you're dying, Naruto! You don't think I would worry if one day you just dropped dead? Or got so sick that you couldn't be a ninja anymore?" Sakura barked at him.

Naruto dropped his gaze from her angry glare. He stuck the tip of his thumb in his mouth, nibbling on the already nib of a nail. "I... I didn't think about it that way."

"You never think," Sakura growled.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! That isn't fair!"

"It wouldn't have been fair for you to think I couldn't handle the news of your health."

Naruto tossed his body backwards against the ground, staring at the sky. "Okay, Sakura-chan! I'm _so_ sorry for thinking about you instead of myself. I _apologize_ for being so _selfish_," he muttered, tossing an arm over his eyes.

"You're damn right."

Naruto groaned. "You're impossible sometimes."

"Excuse me?"

He sat up again, narrowing his eyes at her. "I love you enough to suffer through _this_ alone just so you don't have to worry, and all you care about is... Hell, I don't even know what you care about! I'm the one dying and you have to make it about you," he huffed. "Do you even get what I did for you? Do you?"

"Naruto - "

"I can barely use my own chakra, Sakura. Barely. The second I make more it gets tainted by the fox's that's still lingering inside me. It's killing me. But I used some of my reserves of chakra to send you dreams so you wouldn't worry about me. Do you understand how big a deal that is?"

"Naruto, that doesn't give you the right to constantly lie to me."

"I only want to protect you."

"Dammit Naruto, this is exactly what the problem is between you and I!" Sakura exploded. She had known the whole time how Naruto felt in regards to her safety but hearing it just pissed her off. "You can_not _protect me from everything. I am a reknowned medic-nin and I don't need it. I can handle myself. I have seen people die on the table that didn't even know how badly they were injured. I have seen it and gone through it and I've matured because of it. The idea that you think I need to be protected from bad news just... pisses me off!"

"I didn't _have_ to tell you anything! I could have lied!"

"And that is exactly why I don't want to be with you," Sakura growled without thinking. "I can't stand a liar, Naruto. You think I want to be in a relationship with one? You haven't told me the truth since you've been back in the village, not once."

Naruto looked hurt. "I've told you the truth!"

"No, you haven't. You've lied to me, made me lie to others, and I think you're still being deceptive. How can I be with you - completely be with you - if I'm afraid you're just going to keep things from me? That isn't how relationships work."

"Everything I've done..."

"Has been to protect me, I get that. But I'm telling you, Naruto. I don't need it. I'm an adult and a talented adult at that. I'm smart and level headed. I'm a big girl. It's insulting that you won't respect that about me."

Naruto looked up from his lap and his fidgeting hands. When he met her eyes, they were a captivating deep blue, like she was staring into a vast ocean. "I do respect you, Sakura-chan. You're just so important to me that I can't begin to imagine losing you. I..." he bit his lip, "I didn't want to scare you off."

"Scare me off?"

Naruto nodded slowly. "I didn't want you to feel sympathy for me, because sympathy scares people. No one _likes_ feeling that way. Sympathy is a guilt thing, not a caring thing. You'd start to avoid me just so you wouldn't feel like that. And I couldn't... I can't stand the thought of you doing that, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto... I would _never_ avoid you."

"I know that _now_. But I didn't. And I wasn't going to tell you that because of my fear. And I don't want anyone else to know because of that." He bowed his head again. "I'm sorry for not trusting you, Sakura-chan. But I was scared."

Sakura's face softened and she scooted closer to him on the grass. Nevermind the grass stains that she would probably get on her skirt. She didn't care. She reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand in both of her own, catching his gaze with her eyes. "Naruto-kun, you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. I am never going to leave you. Not now."

"I'm sorry for lying to you."

She nodded slowly. "Don't worry about it. You can start making up for it by telling me the truth from now on. Alright?"

A small smile fell over his face. He nodded. "Yeah, I swear, Sakura-chan. No more lying to you. I said it before, but now I swear that I'll be nothing but honest! And you know I don't go back on my word."

Sakura smiled and leaned forward, kissing his cheek. "Good. Because if you lie to me again, I'll make sure you never get the chance to lie to anyone else without sounding like a prepubescent child. Understood?" she threatened while her eyes glanced down at her crotch. Naruto swallowed hard and nodded his head vigorously.

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Jiraiya watched the drunken Tsunade in front of him with a thoughtful expression. She looked close to passing out, sake cup in one hand while her upper body was splayed across her desk. Her eyes were squinted as she stared back at him, who was about half as drunk as she was.

"You got me drunk," she slurred accusingly at him.

"No, I didn't. You just lack self control."

Tsunade scoffed at him and stood up shakily from her seat. She pointed a finger at him even though her eyes wouldn't focus on its target. "Asshole," she grunted. She dropped her hand and stumbled across the floor, her feet shuffling haphazardly around the office. She was moving towards the bookcase filled with medical journals but she never got there because she ended up tripping over a glass snow globe that someone - probably her - had just left laying in her path. She fell over in a heap of angry hokage. "Who the hell leaves ornaments just lying around!?" she shouted.

Jiraiya smirked, looking between the little snow globe and the fallen hokage. He opened his mouth to make a crack about how older women really needed to be more careful about where they walked but suddenly something ocurred to him with the view of the glass globe. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of this before?

"Tsunade, I just had an idea that could help Naruto!" he exclaimed.

The intoxicated woman shifted slowly so that she could stare at him from her seat on the ground. Apparently she didn't have the motive to get back up yet. "Hm? Do you? What is it?" she murmured.

Jiraiya tried his best to ignore her slugglish behavior. He knew how Tsunade could get when she was drunk, so it was a little easier to put up with it. "I'm going to go to Mount Myoboku to speak with Ogama Sennin. He'll know what to do to make Naruto better. He knows everything."

Tsunade's eyes brightened. "Jiraiya, you're a genius! Go now!"

Jiraiya stood up from his seat and thought about summoning Fukasaku and Shima to reverse summon him to Mount Myoboku, but froze. This was not something to rush. Yes, he needed to get a cure for Naruto fast but he knew that seeing the Great Toad Sage was not an easy matter. It was serious and he would need to think about how he would approach him. He needed time himself.

"I'm going. But I'll have to walk. Toad business and all," Jiraiya lied. "It should only take me a month. The second I hear news, I'll send you word. Until then, watch over Naruto for me, would you?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Just go," she urged him.

Jiraiya nodded and quickly left the office on his journey to pack for Mount Myoboku. He'd save Naruto's life if it killed him!

* * *

**A/N Update! I hope you like it. Don't guess what I'm up to in this story, I'm unpredictable. You'll never get it :) Also, if you couldn't guess, the Narusaku should FINALLY get rolling by next chapter. More rolling than it is. **

**Comments, questions, concerns? REVIEW!**


	33. Chapter 33

**SHOUTOUT TO**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
Foxxel  
ahmadaziz  
Deadman19  
The portalmaster****  
Silent Bunshin  
sparklybutterfly42  
Namikaze541**

**For reviewing last chapter. And thank you for AAAAALLLL of my followers and those that favorited this story. Makes me happy that people appreciate my work.**

* * *

**Chapter 33**

**[One Month Later]**

Naruto crouched low beneath the concealing leaves of the tree whose branch he was sitting on, bottom lip tucked securely beneath his front top teeth. He studied his enemy carefully, reaching stealthily in his kunai pouch for his weapon of choice. He narrowed his eyes and focused so intensely that nothing the opposing shinobi did went unnoticed by Naruto's senses.

He waited until his enemy crouched low, searching for him in the trees. But Naruto knew that he wouldn't find him. He was invisible.

"I know you're out there, coward! Come face me!" The S-Ranked criminal shouted. "All of you Konoha shinobi are the same! Cowards!" He spat.

Naruto clenched his fist tightly around his knife. He waited until his target moved right in his line of attack. He smirked to himself and with the flick of his wrist, the kunai went sailing from behind the leaves and dug itself deep into the criminal's shoulder. A sickening tearing sound echoed throughout the woods as the Kunai exited the same shoulder it just entered, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

"Agh!" his enemy exclaimed.

Naruto took the moment that he was incapacitated to fly from his secure spot in the trees and land in front of his enemy. Shocked at the speed of his opponent, the enemy tried to throw a desperate punch at Naruto's face with his uninjured arm. Of course, Naruto deflected it with his left fist and slammed his right fist into the skull of the opponent right below his eye. He felt the bone give way beneath his knuckles and instantly knew that he'd shattered the rogue's face. Naruto cursed himself mentally and leapt back to put distance between himself and his opponent. He hadn't meant to hit him _that_ hard.

"Naruto! What the hell is your problem? You had him!" Sakura chastised from her own tree where she'd been watching the exchange and waiting for any moment when her talents would be needed. But when she saw Naruto begin to retreat from a basically harmless opponent for absolutely no reason, she'd stepped in. Now the enemy was on the ground, unconscious, and Sakura was sitting on top of him with a kunai pointed to the back of his neck. Naruto pouted to himself. _'Leave it to Sakura-chan to find the easy way to do it.'_

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I was worried I hit him too hard. I'm pretty sure I broke his cheek bone or something with that hit," he revealed.

Sakura leaned forward and glanced at the quickly bruising left side of the Rogue-nin's face. She didn't need to do a medical diagnosis to confirm that Naruto had indeed broken the guy's face. She looked back up at her teammate. "That doesn't explain why you _retreated_! He's an S-ranked criminal Naruto, he'd have killed you if he had the chance. You were worried about him having a broken _face bone_? Baka, if I were you, I'd have sent that kunai sailing through his skull." She 'hmph'ed and pulled a short length of rope from her pack, using it to secure the defeated ninja's hands behind his back. When she finished she looked around the fire-scorched woods that had been their battlefield and slumped. "That took another hour off of our date time," she pouted. "And we still have to make it back to the village."

"Date? Sakura-chan, you specifically said earlier that it wasn't a - "

"I changed my mind. It's a date. But I don't know if I'll even be in the mood to go out later if we get back too late. It will almost be nine and I have an early shift at the hospital tomorrow morning," she complained, grabbing their enemy by the wrists and hoisting him up. Naruto came over and took him off of her hands, tossing him on his back.

"Well, what if I can promise that we can get there before it's too late," Naruto bargained. "Is it still a date then?"

Sakura shrugged. "Well, I don't see why not. But Naruto, it's getting dark already. There's no way that we can make it back before nine at the earlie -"

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **

Sakura watched, a little shocked, as an orange toad bigger than the full-grown Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Yo," he greeted, smirking.

Naruto sat cross legged on its head, smiling cheekily down at her. "Hey, Gamakichi, how about doing me a favor, huh?" He asked, patting the large toad's head. "Deliver this guy to Konoha for me, would you? I need my hands free."

The frog instantly looked displeased. "I'm not a messenger pidgeon, Naruto!" he complained.

Naruto hopped down, leaving their captive sitting pleasantly on the toad's head. "It's just a quick trip to Konoha. It isn't anything extensive," Naruto tried to persuade.

"Well, where are you two going?" he asked, pointing webbed feet at the two shinobi.

Naruto quickly slung an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Konoha. But we have to get there fast. We have a date. You can take your time, though. So no issues."

Sakura, partially realizing what Naruto was up to, frowned. "Naruto, we can't leave a frog to deliver an S-ranked criminal to the Hokage," she protested.

"Aw, Gamakichi can handle it."

"And I'm not a frog, I'm a toad, missy!"

Sakura shot the _toad_ a glare. "Regardless, you aren't carrying out our mission for us."

"But Sakura-chan, we already did all the hard work!"

"No, Naruto."

"But - !"

"I said no!"

Gamakichi looked upset even if he hadn't wanted to do the job anyway. "So I got summoned for nothing?" he asked irritably.

Naruto looked at the frog, then at Sakura. "Well, it doesn't have to be for nothing... I'm pretty tired after that battle. What about you, Sakura-chan?"

* * *

After the debriefing with Tsunade, Sakura and Naruto climbed off of Gamakichi's back outside of Sakura's apartment building. Naruto was crashing on her couch until he could find a place to stay since his old apartment building was knocked down while he was gone. But Sakura didn't seem to mind him being there and he definitely didn't mind being so close to his Sakura-chan. Especially since she'd been so... _warm_... towards him lately.

"I'm sorry we couldn't go out tonight, Naruto-kun. Maybe tomorrow night," Sakura murmured sleepily once Gamakichi disappeared again. It was already well after ten because of the debriefing with the Hokage. There was no way she would be able to stay up on a date with Naruto.

Naruto grabbed Sakura's keys from her lazy fingers and used them to open her door when they reached it. He pushed her gently inside and followed after her, shutting the door behind them. "Well, we don't have to go out for it to be a date, right? We can have a nice time indoors," he tried.

"Naruto-kun, I'm really slee -"

"_Please_, Sakura-chan?" he pleaded. And she just couldn't say no to that face.

"Alright. But if I get too tired, I'm going to bed." She smiled as Naruto's face brightened and he ran into the kitchen. Soon the sound of glasses clinking and water running could be heard from where she stood in the living room.

"Got it, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

Sasuke groaned as light suddenly filled the dark recesses of his cage. It was well after 'late'. Who the hell was coming to bother him at this hour? He grimaced and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his fists as a figure appeared in the doorway and then another. He quickly recognized them as Orochimaru and his lapdog, Kabuto. Kabuto carried a tray filled with different medical instruments and knives that glinted in the light from the hall. Instantly, Sasuke knew what was going on.

Orochimaru smiled sinisterly. "Did we wake you, Sasuke-kun?" he asked in his overly sweet tone.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You're here for my body," he said matter-of-factly. He wouldn't beat around the bush here. They all knew what was going on.

Orochimaru smirked and Kabuto snickered beside him. "Don't be frightened, Sasuke-kun. I just can't put this off any longer. I need your body. Don't be frightened," he repeated. "I've trained you for this day. You're the perfect vessel."

Sasuke sat up and moved his bangs out of his eyes. His heart hammered against his ribs. Although he knew better he couldn't help searching for an escape route with his eyes. "I never would have thought you'd use the word 'perfect' while describing me. I've been nothing but a pain in your ass for five years," he muttered, stalling.

The snake sannin continued to smile. "All worth it, Sasuke-kun. All worth it..." he murmured as he and Kabuto began to advance towards him. Sasuke prepared to defend himself. He would _not_ give Orochimaru his body willingly. He'd die before he let it happen.

* * *

Jiraiya stood in front of the Great Toad Sage with an annoyed expression on his face. A month's long journey and days of waiting to speak with the old toad and he was behaving like a demented geezer.

"Urgh, what was it that you wanted again?" Ogama croaked. No pun intended.

A vein pulsed in Jiraiya's temple but he forced himself to remain tranquil. "Naruto. I need help with _Naruto," _he repeated for the umpteenth time.

"Ah! Right!" Jiraiya waited patiently for the toad to continue and give him some information on how to help his young pupil. But Ogama continued to sit there silently for what seemed like hours.

"Ogama!" he shouted, getting irritated.

However, the toad slowly held up a wrinkled and webbed hand. His eyes squinted down at Jiraiya as his slick tongue slid out to wet aged and cracked lips. "I'm thinking," he replied. His hand came back down and his eyes drifted until they rested on the glass ball seated before him. He stared for a moment before speaking. "There is little hope for the boy."

Jiraiya felt his heart drop into his knees. All that traveling just for the toad sage to tell him what he already feared? He could have just poofed there and saved himself the agonizing worry about how to present the situation if _that _was all that he had to say.

Ogama continued. "But there is a small sliver of a chance."

Jiraiya's head shot up. "A chance?"

The old head nodded slowly though the eyes continued to focus on the crystal ball. "Yes, a chance. Let me tell you a story, Jiraiya-chan."

_'Are you kidding me? You must be messing with me! Now is not the time for story telling!' _Jiraiya thought angrily in his mind. But his respect for the old toad sage was what kept his lips sealed. He instead shot an angry glare at him as he began the tale that was so much more important than Naruto's health.

"There once were two brothers who were very different from one another. Very different. But one only had to look at them to tell that they respected each other despite their differences. While they were still young, one brother was badly injured and became filled with hate. The other brother was later hurt, but kept his hate buried and tried to control it. He didn't want it to consume him. But the other brother came so filled with hate that the darkness claimed him for himself. But whenever the darkness claims a child, the light claims one as well to even the balance. The light chose the younger brother who controlled his anger." The old toad sennin exhaled deeply before continuing his 'pointless' tale. "The younger brother loved the older one with all his heart and wanted him to experience the light with him because he knew that it was good. But whenever the older brother came to the light, the darkness became jealous and snatched him back. But the older brother was so consumed with darkness that eventually, he took the life of his younger brother as he was trying to bring him to the light. The light was very angry, and took the older brother as payment. But the darkness breathed life into the Light brother and brought him back, and this made things very uneven. So the darkness took the older brother back. And things are now in balance. But soon, the older brother will vanish from this earth and things will fall out of balance yet again. The light will have to give up its child if it happens."

By the end of the tale, Jiraiya had begun to catch on. But he was still horribly confused. "But where is the hope, Ogama Sennin?" he pleaded, mentally exhausted by this exchange.

The Great Toad Sage looked down at Jiraiya with what seemed like disappointment. "You must throw things back in balance to save the Light's Child. Protect the bond between the brothers. Save the Dark brother and the Light Child has no reason to die."

* * *

Naruto smiled across the kitchen table at Sakura who's lips parted from her now-empty glass of wine. It was only her second glass and yet her eyes shimmered and glazed with the sign of intoxication and her cheeks were rosier than normal. It wasn't his intention to get her tipsy. It just sort of happened that way.

"Okay, your turn," Sakura urged him, setting her glass down on the table. Naruto was relieved to see that she didn't reach for the bottle of wine to fill her glass again. He didn't want to be the one she blamed when she woke up to a hangover in the morning.

"I like your hair. It's unique and reminds me of sweet things, like you. And it makes me really excited to see pink hair in a crowd because that means I've found you," Naruto answered with a smile. He took a sip from his glass. "Your turn."

"I like your eyes."

"You said that already."

"Well, I really like them."

"I really like you," Naruto replied with a smirk.

"I love you," Sakura responded instantly. Naruto almost dropped his glass and caused it to shatter to the ground. But thankfully his reflexes were much better than they were when he was fifteen. He slowly set down the fragile cup and stared at her.

"You what?" He had only heard her say that once before - when he almost spent the night with her - and she'd only meant as friends back then. Somehow he knew this time was different.

"I love you," Sakura repeated more slowly. A tiny smile teased at the corners of her lips. "Why do you seem so surprised?"

"Because I am," he said under his breath, looking at her. "Do you really love me, Sakura-chan? Like... love me, love me?"

"I told you I cared for you."

"That's different than love."

"But I do feel love for you. I have for about... five years," she giggled.

Naruto's face scrunched up. "You can't love a guy you think is dead. That doesn't make sense, Sakura-chan."

"Only for you, because you're a baka." She giggled again, her blush escalating in shade. "Do you love me, Naruto-kun?"

"Of course I do!"

"Wanna prove it?"

"Huh?"

Sakura smiled slyly and got out of her seat. She was a little wobbily but she quickly steadied herself. With a motion of her finger to tell Naruto to follow her, she began her trek to her bedroom.

Naruto was nervous but followed her. She shut the door behind them despite them being the only people in the apartment and quickly tugged on Naruto's jacket zipper.

Shocked, Naruto stepped back. "W-What are you doing, Sakura-chan?" he asked nervously.

Sakura shrugged. "Getting you comfy."

"I don't think we should do this, Sakura-chan. You're drunk."

"Scared?" she taunted.

Naruto's cheeks flushed. To be honest, she hit the nail right on the head. He had never done anything like that before with anyone and he was a little nervous. But he wasn't about to admit that to _her_. "No! Of course not! I just..."

Sakura ignored him and went and sat on the bed. She pulled her own red vest off of her torso and smirked at him. "You're just scared."

Naruto swallowed and walked over to the bed. He sat down beside her and turned her head, kissing her. She sighed against his mouth as if in relief and he pulled away. "I'm not scared."

* * *

"Good," Sakura breathed, her own heart hammering in her chest. Her hands went back to his jacket and tugged the zipper the rest of the way down. Naruto helped her to shrug it off. She kissed him again when she felt that her hands were too embarrassingly shakey to continue trying to undress him. She felt gravity shift when Naruto's arms wrapped around her and she was pulled down on top of him. She was pleasantly - and somewhat disappointedly - surprised that his hands stayed above the waist.

He pulled away, looking up at her with hesitation. "Are you _sure_ this is how you want your first time to go?" he whispered in the darkness of her room.

Sakura was shocked. He thought she was a... She bit her lip, deciding now wasn't the time to tell him otherwise. It would only ruin the mood and she didn't want this night to end badly after such a promising start. "Y-Yeah, I'm sure. I don't want anyone but you, Naruto-kun. I love you and I just want you."

Something flickered in Naruto's eyes and they looked like they got darker, like they changed color. But Sakura merely chalked that up to the lust he was feeling; eyes tended to go darker with lust. She opened her mouth to ask if he was alright, but he attacked her mouth with his, rougher than before. He rolled over her and parted her lips with his bottom lip, his hands sliding under her top.

Sakura sighed. She didn't know why she lied. He would find out the truth soon enough. Even Naruto couldn't be fooled that easily...

* * *

When Sakura awoke that morning, she felt like she'd be run over with a cart about a million times. Her muscles ached with each shuffle she made in bed and her head pulsed painfully with signs of a hangover. She groaned and sat up, squinting at the sunlight and glancing around the room. It was then that Sakura noticed Naruto sitting - fully dressed - on the edge of the bed, far enough apart that they weren't touching. Instantly Sakura felt her blood run like ice water. He _had_ to know the truth now and he was upset!

"Naruto-kun..." she ventured, moving to touch his arm.

He scooted away from her. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan," he whispered without turning to her.

What? _He_ was sorry? "Naruto, what are you..."

"I hurt you last night," he frowned, looking at her. His deep blue eyes were filled with sadness. "Look at yourself."

Sakura frowned herself and looked underneath the sheets at her body and understood why she woke up feeling so terrible. She was littered in bruises that covered her wrists, upper arms, thighs, hips, and waist. Finger-like bruises. and her collar was littered with bite marks. She didn't remember him _biting_ her. Did she blank last night?

Naruto seemed to notice her shock and buried his fingers in his blond locks, tugging helplessly. "I must have had too much to drink last night without realizing it. I... I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't even remember it." He tugged harder on his hair. "I blanked and when I finally came back to reality I realized that I'd really hurt you. And I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. This isn't the way anyone's first should go," he groaned. "I didn't even feel when you... Pervy-sage said I'm supposed to feel it when your..." He couldn't make himself finish. "I didn't feel anything. It was like it wasn't there and it made it seem like your first time didn't mean anything." Again, he tugged on his hair.

Sakura couldn't believe her luck. He _still_ thought she was a virgin before last night? Naruto was lovable, but such a gullible boy. Still, she wouldn't be the one to tell him otherwise. He already felt bad enough.

She scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around him sideways and resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Naruto-kun. I don't care what it was like, as long as it was with you. I'm not angry."

And so the lie continued.

* * *

**A/N Okay, so, I would lay out exactly what I have planned to stop you all from worrying about the Narusaku AGAIN just because of a little lie, but I don't want to spoil it. But it all ties into the big finale of this tale, alright?**

**And also, the Light Child Ogama Sennin was talking about was Naruto and the Dark Brother was Sasuke. He was speaking in riddles I guess you could say. So yes, there is a way to save Naruto.**

**Unfortunately, Sasuke was about to get his body taken in this chapter. And will be gone by next chapter. Oops. But no worries! I have a plan to save them both! Which I'm also not telling you about.**

**So. I hope I just answered a few questions that were undoubtedly going to be asked later in reviews.**

**Any more questions? Comments? Concerns? REVIEW!**

**Or, you know, just follow the story if you like it. I like follows :)**


	34. Chapter 34

**SHOUTOUT TO**

**Deadman19  
zafnak  
ahmajo  
soarath  
triforcepwnage  
Foxxel****  
sparklybutterfly42  
**

**For reviewing last chapter. I originally had the idea for this chapter to reveal something a LITTLE bit different, but I realized that a) it would leave too many holes and I haven't even begun to fill in the ones that are already in this story and b) I would contradict earlier statements in the story. Therefore, the story isn't changing but being tweaked SLIGHTLY. But what do you care, you wouldn't know I was changing anything if I hadn't just told ya :)**

* * *

**Chapter 34**

Sakura was able to get Naruto to come back to bed with her after a little bit of prodding. But she woke up again after feeling Naruto shuffle from beneath the blankets. Annoyed, she turned around sharply to grab his hand only to realize he was already gone. She heard footsteps across the hall and then the sick sound of vomiting. Worried, she got out of bed and got dressed, walking to the bathroom and noticing he hadn't even bothered to shut the door. His head rested on the seat of the toilet, face green with sick and the disgusting smell of puke in the room. Sakura covered her nose with the sleeve of the jacket she borrowed from Naruto just now and knelt on the floor beside her lover.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" she asked, wiping the sweaty blonde bangs from his forehead.

Naruto shook his head, closing his eyes. "I don't feel so good," he muttered, sounding confused himself.

Sakura pried him away from the toilet and laid him on the tile of her bathroom. He didn't fight her as she moved his T shirt up over his abdomen and ran her fingers over his bare stomach. The seal was invisible to her now, but she knew that it was there. "Nothing seems to be wrong with the seal. Maybe you ate someth - Naruto?" she gasped as his hand suddenly shot out to grab her wrist. She snapped her head to him to find his eyes wide open and... purple?

"D-Don't," he ordered her with a disconcerting smirk on his face. He sat up, hand still gripping her wrist. "That's my no-no place, Sakura-chan. Don't touch my seal."

Sakura was barely listening. This situation reminded her of another time when Naruto's eyes changed along with everything else about him. He was rough, impatient, pushy and unpleasant.

**XXX**

_His eyes weren't the same. The normal deep cerulean orbs had shifted until the color morphed into a bright violet. He looked at her from the cracks of his fingers, flashing her what could only be described as a wolfish grin. And she had to say that it wasn't as warming as his normal _foxy _grin. It made her a little uncomfortable._

_She shifted away from him a bit on the couch. "Naruto-kun... your eyes," she breathed._

_Naruto continued to smile at her. "Dazzling aren't they?" he asked in a voice that certainly belonged to him but sounded... different somehow._

_"Are you alright?" she asked warily._

_"Why wouldn't I be?"_

_"You just seem... a little different from a moment ago. And your eyes changed -"_

_Naruto waved her off. "Oh that? It happens sometimes. It's an effect of the er... fox. You know, red plus blue equals uh... purple. Right?" He chuckled stupidly. "It happens when I've been pushing myself too hard. Sucks. I normally get awful sick afterwards." He pouted._

_"Sick?" She asked, biting her lip._

_"Yeah. Worse than ever. Jeez, I think I feel it coming on. Ugh!" he groaned, gripping his stomach. He looked over at her out of the corner of his eye. "This one's real painful."_

_"Lie down!" Sakura urged him. He did as she told him and she rested her fingers gently over his abdomen. Slowly her fingers massaged and tried to loosen the tight muscles in his stomach. She'd learned before that that sometimes helped him through his episodes._

_"Urgh! Ah! Lower," Naruto begged, writhing beneath her. He then snatched one of her hands and slid it lower down his stomach. Real low._

_Sakura snatched her hand back. "Naruto! What the hell!"_

_The blonde sat up, apparently recovered. "Oh come on, Sakura-chan. Let's have a little fun, huh? You've been playing hard to get for years."_

_Sakura growled. "Excuse me?"_

_"I thought you _cared_ about me."_

_"I do-!"_

_"Then prove it. Unless you don't. In which case, stop leading me on," Naruto muttered, sounding irritated._

_Sakura swallowed. She didn't want him to think she didn't care about him. She did. She just didn't know about... _that. "_I-I don't know, Naruto-kun. I-it'll be my... ahem... I just don't think this is how I want to go about it."_

_"Don't worry. I'm one too. It'll be special because it's both of our firsts."_

_"But Naruto..."_

_"Sakura... Come on. You either care for me or you don't." His eyes were cold. She'd never seen them that cold. Although she'd never seen them _purple _either._

_Sakura narrowed her eyes. "No, Naruto. I said no." _

**XXX**

_She'd said no. Had meant it. She went to bed that night alone. But she woke up that morning with Naruto. He was fully clothed but she was another story and she knew almost instantly that it was wrong. She climbed out of bed, feeling sick, and got dressed so fast and so clumsily that she'd woken up Naruto. She froze when she heard the bed squeak and saw Naruto sitting up and stretching. He opened his eyes like a newborn and she was relieved to find them blue again. At least he wouldn't be in pain._

_Naruto looked at her, seeming confused. "Sakura-chan, what's going on? Why am I in your room?" he asked, looking around. _

_Instantly she got angry again when she saw that he was playing the role of the unknowing idiot. She thought that two years with a sannin would have made him a man. Instead, he was a perverted, manipulating asshole. "Are you fucking serious?" she snapped at him._

_Naruto jumped at her words. "Sakura-chan, I don't - "_

_She held up a hand. "Just... leave me alone, Naruto. I'm going to do a few hours at the hospital. When I get back I want you gone." She whipped around, grabbing her weapon's pouch off the dresser on the way out. Never knew when she might need it. She stormed to the door, hearing Naruto clammering after her. She got to the door and had the knob in her hand only to find Naruto gripping her wrist in the gentlest of ways. _

_"Sakura-chan, please. Tell me what I did. I'm sorry," he pleaded._

_Sakura grabbed a kunai from her pouch and gripped it as she held it in front of Naruto's throat, point inches from his jugular. She expected him to move. She wanted to hurt him for what he'd done but she knew from missions and his fight with Kiba that he was much faster than she was and could probably avoid whatever attack she sent his way. But he didn't move; he fell to his knees._

_"Sakura-chan, please," he whimpered, looking at her with eyes shimmering like the waves of the ocean when the sun first comes up after a storm. Sakura's own eyes searched his, looking inside the deep orifices for any memory of the night before. She found nothing. Only the deepest barrels of regret for a crime he didn't even remember. And somehow, she knew that whoever it was that spoke to her last night it wasn't him._

_She sank to her knees beside him and wrapped her arms around him. She cried into his shirt and he held her tentatively, not knowing if she was still angry. He rubbed soothing circles in her back, promising to seriously hurt whatever had made her so upset. This only made her cry harder until Naruto just stayed silent. _

_When she managed to get herself together, she resolved not to tell him what her troubles were. It would only hurt him if he knew what he'd done, more than it hurt her; and despite what happened, Sakura loved him and didn't want him hurting. He was already going through so much pain._

**XXX**

Now, Sakura stared at the purple-eyed Naruto with fear. She ripped her wrist from his hand and stood up, backing to the door. "I'm glad that you're feeling better, Naruto-kun," she said uneasily.

Naruto jumped up easily, despite looking so ill before. He smirked at her and stalked her like prey across the space of the bathroom. "Where are you going, Sakura-chan?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Sakura bolted. She didn't know what else to do. This wasn't her Naruto, this was pure, unadulterated _evil_. And her instincts were telling her to get away from him before he could do something worse to her than he did before. She needed to get away.

"Naruto" caught her before she had the chance to get all the way out the door. She was slammed harshly against the wall next to her bedroom door and could tell her entire back would be littered with bruises when she got the chance to look. _If _she got the chance to look. "Naruto"'s fingers wrapped around throat and she could feel claws scratching on her skin. She closed he eyes. No, definitely not Naruto.

The fingers gripped her throat tightly. "Why are you running from me, Sakura-chan? Don't you love me?" he whispered to her.

Sakura's stomach churned at the sound of this wannabe using the term only Naruto really called her anymore. "I love Naruto. You aren't him," she choked out around the grip on her neck. "You're an imposter."

The choke got worse. The nails dug into her flesh and she could feel the warm liquid of her blood dripping down her neck. "I'm _better_ than him!" "Naruto" screamed at her. "Why would you want that loser bastard when you can have me? I made him what he is. I'm stronger than he'll ever be. He's just a deadlast."

Sakura shook her head. The grip was tightening and her vision was starting to get black around the corners. But she wouldn't pass out around him. She couldn't trust him. "Give him back," she rasped. "Gimme back Naruto."

"Don't you get it, bitch? I _am_ Naruto! Me. So get used to it," he snapped, choking her harder. Sakura could feel it when she gave up. She couldn't fight the real Naruto, let alone this... this... _thing _that possessed his body. He had her locked up against the wall and she was stupid enough to have left her weapons pouch in her room when she ran to check up on Naruto. She didn't have an advantage here and she was sure that this thing knew it. So she let her eyes flutter closed and tried to think of something better than this moment, like her date last night with the real Naruto. She had just about felt herself getting ready to conk out when the strangest thing happened. The evil Naruto let her go and began backing away.

Sakura opened her eyes just in time to see him knock himself out with his own fist. Her eyes glanced around the room and landed on Ino, getting up from the floor. She had never been so happy to see her.

"Ino!" she gasped, wobbling over to her best friend. Her knees were still wobbly from the lightheadedness.

"Sakura, are you alright? I come to pick you up so we can go to the hospital together and hear Naruto yelling at you from outside. What's going on?" the platinum blonde kunoichi asked, looking down at Naruto's unconscious form like he was the scum of the earth.

Sakura shook her head wearily. "That isn't Naruto-kun. Ino, help me get him to Tsunade-sama's office," she ordered, grabbing Naruto's hand and hoisting one of his arms over her thin shoulders. She almost buckled under his weight coupled with her own fatigue.

Ino looked hesitant to touch the unconscious blonde. "Sakura, are you sure? Maybe you should rest. You're bleeding..."

Sakura shook her head. "No, no time. I want to get him in Tsunade's care before he has a chance to wake up and he isn't himself again. Are you going to help or not?"

Ino sighed and walked over, grabbing one of Naruto's arms.

* * *

Tsunade sat in her office going through pointless piles of paperwork and rubbing the bridge of her nose. She just finished putting a stamp on a mission file when her former teammate came busting through her window.

"Tsunade, I have it! I know how to save Naruto!"

The female sannin almost jumped from her desk at the news. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. "What the hell are you just standing there for? Out with it!" she shouted, forgetting the piles of papers for now. "I wasn't expecting you for at least another month!"

Jiraiya grinned and placed his hands on Tsunade's desk. "This news was too good to waste time walking to tell."

"Well?" she prodded him.

"Naruto is bonded to Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Excuse me?"

Jiraiya went into the story that he learned from Ogama Sennin, cutting a few corners here and there that didn't matter. "And Ogama Sennin says that in order to save Naruto all we have to do is ensure that Sasuke lives!" he finished.

Jiraiya thought that his news would have been something to celebrate over. Finally they could stop mourning Naruto! But when he searched her face for the excitement, he only saw shadows and despair.

Tsunade shifted through the paper, grasping at a single sheet among the piles. "It would seem that your news is a bit too late, Jiraiya. According to informants, Uchiha Sasuke doesn't exist anymore."

Jiraiya's heart dropped. He remembered the final words of Ogama's story. _'Soon, the older brother will vanish from this earth and things will fall out of balance yet again.' _"You mean..."

"Orochimaru obtained his body. Uchiha Sasuke is gone."

Right on time, Sakura and Ino burst through the doors carrying and unconscious Naruto between them. Behind them were ANBU and Shizune shouting at them that they couldn't go in just yet. "Tsunade-shishou," Sakura beathed, gasping. "Something is wrong with Naruto-kun!"

* * *

**A/N Again, no assuming. I'm sure we all know the saying about that. You're gonna be wrong :) Even if you think I'm hinting at it, if it's not specifically said, do not assume.**

***Hint hint wink wink* Do not assume that just because Sakura THINKS something happened with Kurai and her before that something DID happen with Kurai and her before.**

**Also, I needed the month timeskip to make Sakura and Naruto closer without actually having to write out Sakura and Naruto getting closer. I'm a lazy author :)**

**Don't worry about Sasuke. The cogs are turning in my maniacle brain. :) I have it AAAAAAAALLLLL under control. And the HinaKiba thing should be situated soon. I hope. Heh heh. And since you can't worry about Sasuke and he and Naruto are bonded, don't worry about Naruto either. **

**No flames. I'm about sick of those reviews that are unkind for no reason. Do you know the meaning fo CONSTRUCTIVE criticism? Jeez. Normally they don't bother me at all and just make me wanna write more for those who appreciate my work but they're starting to bug me. -_-**

**Otherwise, don't be afraid to Review with all of your comments questions and concerns. Eh. **


	35. Chapter 35

**THANKS TO**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
****ahmadaziz  
The portalmaster  
EmilyLovesbooks  
Deadman19  
**

**For reviewing last chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 35**

Once again, Naruto awoke feeling like he was drugged. He felt weak and the command of his limbs was lost to him. He struggled to sit up from the musky water around him, annoyed that he found himself in this predicament again.

"I'm not speaking to you, Kurama. Go away," he growled, shutting his eyes tightly. Suddenly, a pain flashed through his belly like a spike trying desperately to push its way out of his belly button from the inside of his stomach. He gasped and instantly rolled his body over, not caring that his mouth suddenly filled with the disgusting, musky water.

A voice reached his ears that sounded like an unpleasant mockery of his own. "I'm sorry, Friend. But the old furball isn't here to hear you right now. We're somewhere he can't find us, and we're going to have a little fun."

Naruto gasped and found himself sputtering as the water filled his nose and lungs. He shot up from the ground with a start, coughing and hitting himself in the chest. In less than a second, he felt Kurai beside him, punching him in the back in a feigned attempt to dispel the water.

Finally, Naruto forced himself to stop coughing. But not before Kurai was able to get a few more good stinging hits in. Naruto had to convince himself that it was just mental and the pain wasn't real before the hurt finally began to dull. There was one thing that Naruto never denied about his Alter Ego: he was strong. "What do you want?" he asked Kurai finally, fists clenched in his lap.

His other half flashed in front of him in only a moment. He smiled, showing a mouth filled with almost perfectly normal teeth, save for a pair of sharply pointed fangs. "I want to talk to you for a moment, Naruto-kun. Is that so much to ask?"

"You've hidden from me for two years. Even when I tried conjuring you up, you wouldn't come. Why now?"

Kurai continued to offer that same wolf-like grin at him. His purple eyes flashed in amusement. "I worry about you, Friend. I hear that you're dying."

Naruto almost snorted. He resisted the urge. "You say that like you aren't dying, too. If I go, you go." Naruto knew the rules of the beings living within him. He figured that just like the fox, when he died, Kurai would be long gone, too.

But Kurai didn't seem fazed. In fact, he looked _smug_. "I don't know about that, Friend. I don't feel like I'm dying at all. In fact, I feel _stronger_." He crossed his left arm across his chest and rested his right elbow on it as he tapped his lips. "As a matter of fact, it seems that the sicker you get, the stronger _I _get." He only paused for a moment to allow the words to reach the original's ears. "I've even managed to get out and have some fun."

"What? How could you get out? You're in my head," Naruto stammered out.

Kurai smirked. "You really are stupid, Naruto-kun. You know those black outs you've been having? Those moments when all of a sudden time's passed and you have no recollection of the hours or days in between? That's when I get out," he revealed. "And I'm in full control. I don't have to give you your body back but sometimes it's worth it to watch you get in trouble for what I've done. Like with our Sakura-chan."

Naruto instantly snapped into protective mode over the mention of Sakura's name. His blood boiled when Kurai referred to her as "their" Sakura-chan. Hell no, she was _his! _He wasn't sharing with anyone, not even himself! "What did you do to my Sakura-chan?" he snapped, jumping into a standing position.

Kurai smirked, standing up coolly. "You haven't connected the dots yet, Naruto-kun? Do you remember a particular black out? Come on, I would think that the curiosity about _that_ day would have killed you."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond that he had absolutely no idea what the psychopath meant when his mind wa suddenly filled with an image.

_Sakura was asleep in her own bed, snoring adorably in her peaceful slumber. She was unaware that she was being watched._

It didn't take Naruto long to figure out that what he was watching was one of the moments when Kurai took possession of his body. He had no recollection of this event and it bothered him.

_Naruto's own hand reached out and touched the pinkette's soft cheek. He could feel her skin beneath the rough palm of his hand. He leaned down, gently kissing her slightly parted lips._

Naruto felt like he should have looked away or closed his eyes or done _something_ so that he couldn't see the image in his head.

_He pulled back the blanket and Naruto saw that she was dressed in her pajamas: a baggy white T shirt and he could just make out the top of her pink pajama bottoms. Naruto felt his mouth - his own mouth - pull into what even he could tell was a sick smile. His hands slid beneath the pink T shirt..._

Naruto felt like he was going to be sick. He gripped his stomach and sunk to his knees, clenching his eyes shut so tightly that it actually began to _hurt_. "I-I don't remember..." he stammered, trying to catch his breath.

Kurai chuckled behind him. "Of course you don't, Friend. That's not you, it's _me_."

Naruto whirled on his darker half. "What do you mean _you_?" Naruto growled, narrowing his eyes.

Kurai didn't seem fazed at all by the sudden anger erupting from Naruto. "I think you know what I mean, Naruto-kun."

"You... You _touched_ her? You touched my Sakura-chan!?" Naruto screeched, jumping up and gripping his fists tightly enough to cause them to shake. His entire body tensed up like a snake coiled to strike.

Kurai smirked. His fangs flashed like taunts in Naruto's eyes. "She's _our_ Sakura-chan, Friend. We both had her. Actually, I had her first. Maybe not to the extent that you had her, but I experienced and knew her before you did." He crossed his arms smugly across his chest. "I told you that my way of getting Sakura was more efficient."

Naruto didn't know what to think. The image of Kurai using _his_ body to touch Sakura-chan that way... Naruto felt his body begin to shake. His fingers curled into tight fists, trembling with heated emotion. "She isn't _ours_. She's mine," he growled behind clenched teeth.

"Oh really? What happened to all that talk of being brothers, Friend? You can't even share _Sakura-chan_ with me?"

"Don't talk about her like she's some kind of object, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, running at Kurai and closing the distance between them in two long strides. He was much faster than he was the last time he encountered his alter ago - even in his mind - and Kurai couldn't dodge the lightning fast fist that shot at his face fast enough. Naruto's knuckles clipped Kurai's jaw and sent the boy flying ten feet away.

Kurai got up and wiped the blood from his mouth. "I'm going to make you regret that, _Friend_."

* * *

Sakura couldn't remember a time when she felt this sick to her stomach. Her head ached, her muscles were sore, and her stomach churned and flipped with each passing moment of the day. And that was _before_ the start of her twenty-four hour shift at the hospital. Now, she could add exhaustion on top of her other symptoms. She wished that she could simply go home and be done with the day but her conscience wouldn't allow her to do that without checking up on Naruto for the sixteenth time that day. And his room was all the way on the _other side of the hospital_. She groaned and slammed her forehead against the counter of the front desk.

"Are you alright, Forehead?" Ino asked, sounding concerned behind her. Sakura almost forgot that the blonde was standing there as she gathered her patients' clipboards.

Sakura lifted her head again and gave a shaky smile. "Just tired and stressed, Ino-pig. I've been worried about Naruto for the past three days and I haven't been able to sleep because of it. Plus my stomach has felt queasy for a while now. I think one of the kids last week had the flu and I caught it. I really just want to go home and sleep but I want to check up on Naruto one more time before I go home. If I can make it down the hall without keeling over." She rolled her eyes at her own complaining. She didn't want to do it, it just came out.

Ino smirked at her friend, holding out one of her charts. "Well, you're in luck. A certain blonde boy is on my route this morning. I can walk with you."

* * *

Kurai had Naruto by the throat, claws digging into the flesh of his skin. Kurai always looked like he was under the influence of the fox's chakra with clawed hands and sharp fangs. But Naruto had undergone a change of his own. The orange chakra of the Kyuubi was encircling his body like a cloak, hugging him like an old forgotten friend. His own teeth had shaped into sharp fangs like Kurai's and his pupils were bloodshot red. His own hands shaped into claws at the tips, which were now scraping at Kurai's face.

"Gah!" his darker half screamed as one of Naruto's claws scratched down Kurai's right eye, causing him to drop Naruto.

Naruto flipped back and landed on all fours. The chakra cloak followed the movements of Naruto's body, forming two tails behind him.

Kurai growled, blood dripping from his eye. "Two tails? Tsk, Tsk, Naruto. I would think that by now you would have improved somhow."

Naruto growled. "Stop talking down to me!" he screamed, lunging at Kurai again.

Kurai grabbed him out of mid-air and flung his body behind him like a ragdoll. Naruto flew an unmeasurable distance before crashing to the ground with a large _thud_. But one wouldn't be able to even tell how hard he hit with how quickly he got up again. In only an instant, he was on all fours and facing Kurai again.

Kurai smirked at him, arms crossed over his chest. "I would be careful with your anger if I was you, Naruto-kun. If you get any more tails, I'm not sure how long you'll last. Can't you already feel it burning you up, setting you aflame from the inside?"

Naruto snarled at him like a rabid dog. He was past the point of reasoning. Again, he launched his entire body in Kurai's direction but this time he added more power to his legs to increase his jump speed. It worked and he connected with Kurai's face again. It seemed like his goal was to horribly disfigure him.

Claw marks appeared on Kurai's face and for once, the darker persona look phased. The edges of the bleeding wound were bubbling with orange chakra, sizzling against his skin. "Gah," Kurai gasped, falling to his knees.

Naruto hadn't had enough. He bared his fangs and launched at the wounded Kurai, claw pulled back as another tail began to form next to the others...

* * *

Sakura gently touched Naruto's cheek and leaned down to gently kiss his lips as he slept. She swiped the blonde bangs out of his eyes and used her fingers to smooth the discomforted creases out of his forehead. "You've been asleep for three days, Naruto-kun. It's time to wake up," she whispered as if her love was just napping.

Ino stood awkwardly in the doorway. "I'm so sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean for this to happen. When I saw him, I panicked and I just... If I knew he wouldn't wake up, I wouldn't have - "

"It's not your fault, Ino," Sakura replied without facing her friend. "This has happened before. One second he's normal and then he falls asleep and just doesn't wake up. It's what happened back in Tanzaku Town." She slid her hand down and grasped Naruto's hand in hers. "Even if he would have laid down for a nap, I figure it would have been the same. I'm just glad that we're not on a mission this time around."

Ino frowned, coming fuller into the room. "But why do you think he just... hybernates like that?" she asked.

Sakura mimicked her expression, looking down at the sleeping boy in the hospital bed. He looked so different from the boy that attacked her in the bathroom, and that was how she knew that this was her Naruto sleeping. The other person that occupied his body couldn't hope to look this peaceful.

Again, Sakura's hand reached out to smooth Naruto's creased forehead, only to pull back as soon as her fingers touched him with a yelp.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"He... He burned me. His forehead... It was normal a second ago but now he's got a fever hot to the touch," she whispered, still staring at Naruto while gripping the burned fingertips.

Ino went to the door. "I'll get Lady Tsunade."

Sakura nodded, her eyes never leaving Naruto. What just happened?

The second that Ino shut the door behind her, Naruto lurched forward out of bed. With the lightning fast reflexes of a trained medic-nin, Sakura grasped a pan and held it in under Naruto's chin just as he began to vomit blood. She watched in horror but held the pan determinedly until he was finished. Then she set it to the side and watched as Naruto's weak body sat upright on his own. Was he finally...?

"S-Sakura," he coughed, "-chan."

Sakura smiled as bright as could be and held Naruto's shoulders to keep him sitting upright. "Naruto-kun, you're awake!" she exclaimed.

The blonde didn't share her glee. "Sakura-chan," he repeated. Sakura tilted his head up by his chin so that she could look into his eyes. They looked pained. "Why didn't you tell me... what I did to you?" he rasped.

Sakura was so shocked by this that she accidentally let Naruto go, sending his body falling limply back to the bed. She instantly knew what he was talking about. There was only ever one thing that he'd ever truly done to her. But how did he know? He didn't remember! "W-What do you... What are you talking..."

Just then the door opened again, revealing Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Ino.

"I brought her," Ino called, panting.

Tsunade quickly moved Sakura out of the way and began checking over Naruto without even realizing the blue eyes that were opened and staring at her apprentice.

"Sakura-chan, no lies. We promised not to lie to each other. Tell me the truth," he muttered weakly.

Tsunade jumped at the noise but quickly fell back into medic mode. She only glanced over her shoulder at Sakura in question. "What is he talking about, Sakura?"

The pinkette frowned, moving on the other side of Naruto as Tsunade checked his temperature. "I didn't want to hurt you. I knew it wasn't you, it couldn't have been. And I didn't want you to hate yourself," she whispered, grasping his hand.

"I hurt you," Naruto whispered in a way that made it seem like the words were painfully torn from his throat.

"You didn't mean to."

"That doesn't change the fact that I did. I only want to protect you, but I...I'm - "

Tsunade covered his mouth with her hand, stopping him from speaking. "Shut it, brat. All your wheezing is making this difficult."

Naruto clamped his lips shut tightly. Jiraiya, on the other hand, decided that now was the time to talk. "Tsunade, I think this is what we were afraid of," he muttered.

Sakura had almost forgotten he was in the room. She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "What do you mean, Jiraiya-sama?"

Tsunade shook her head, ignoring her pupil. "It can't be. Sasuke just disappeared. It can't be time already," she denied, using her stethoscope to check Naruto's heartbeat. All the while, the blonde was silent.

"Sasuke? Sasuke's gone? Where is he?" Sakura inquired.

Again, she went ignored and her questions went unanswered. Jiraiya simply walked over to the pan filled with blood and lifted it to Tsunade's eye level. "Then what do you call this?" Tsunade forcibly shoved it away, causing the blood to splash onto the toad sage's clothing. He looked instantly digusted. "Tsunade!"

"Don't 'Tsunade' me, Jiraiya!"

Sakura was becoming fed up with all of this. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded, shouting at the sages which no one else in their right mind would have done.

Tsunade jumped, looking at her normally collected student as if she suddenly grew snakes for hair. "Sakura, Sasuke..." she bit her lip, searching for the right words to say. "Sasuke is dead. Orochimaru took his body sometime last week."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "And consequently, Naruto is dying, too. I'm sorry."

She barely had time to step over to a chair before her body crumpled and her vision went black.

* * *

**A/N I no likey cliffies, so I really wanna get this next chapter written and posted quickly. But I don't want to do that because some people won't get a chance to review. So maybe I'll just write the chapter early and post it early.**

**Hey, did you realize I updated a day early? I should get a cookie. I'm not late for once!**

**I can't think of any obvious questions for this chapter so I have nothing to explain. But I'm sure YOU all have questions, so feel free to ask.**

**Which brings me to...**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns? REVIEW!**

**[And Favorite]**


	36. Chapter 36

**THANKS TO**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
Zatheko  
****Deadman19  
KyuubiKid2468****  
****EmikoSakura27  
**

**For reviewing last chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 36**

It was clear that when she woke up again she was in a hospital bed, but it was also clear that she wasn't admitted. She still wore her own clothes and she wasn't tucked neatly in bed the way that patients were. She laid comfortably on top of the rough blankets like she was taking a nap. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Have a nice nap?" Tsunade asked her.

She jumped a little, then allowed her eyes to rest on her sensei. Instantly the events that happened before she fainted came rushing back to her like a bad dream. "Tell me that wasn't true, Tsunade-shishou. Tell me that Naruto isn't dying," she pleaded, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Tsunade looked sympathetic. "I'm afraid so, Sakura. But don't sound so shocked. You knew that this was coming. Naruto must have told you that there was nothing we could do about it."

"But I didn't know it would be so soon!" Sakura protested, burying her face in her knees. "It's barely been over a month, shishou."

Tsunade sighed and climbed onto the hospital bed with Sakura. She sat cross legged and pulled the pink haired girl against her chest, rubbing her back. It wasn't long before she felt Sakura's heated tears against her shirt. "Sh, sh," she tried to soothe the crying girl, "Everything will be alright."

"No it won't," Sakura denied, words muffled against Tsunade's chest. "Naruto will be dead soon and I don't know if I can deal with that again. I don't think I'm strong enough."

Tsunade pulled Sakura away and looked firmly into her seafoam green eyes. "Well, you don't have a choice but to be strong, Sakura. It isn't just about you anymore. Naruto needs someone to support him now more than ever. He does _not_ need someone who is just going to crumble when faced with adversity. You need to be there for _him,_ when he needs you."

Sakura did know how to react. She knew that she was too weak to handle watching Naruto die again. In her short sixteen years, she had already had to live with that twice. Once at twelve, and once in Tanzaku Town while under the effects of a genjutsu. Any more and Sakura was sure that she would never recover. She was positive that she was only able to walk away mentally unscarred because Naruto had been there for her, in some way or other. But this next time... Still, she nodded her head slightly and replied, "H-Hai."

* * *

Naruto was in his room alone. After Sakura fainted, the room cleared out fairly quickly: Tsunade went to take care of her pink haired pupil, Ino went to finish her rounds, and Jiraiya decided to allow him to let the information of his impending doom sink in. Which was probably bad thinking on Jiraiya's part because who in their right mind would want to be alone after being told that they were doomed to die soon? And then, on top of that, his best friend - or former best friend - was dead, too! How was he supposed to digest all of that on his own?

_"How long do I have?" he'd asked Jiraiya, terror creeping into his voice despite trying to hide it._

_The old man sighed heavily like he'd been carrying a large load for many miles. "I'm not sure. All I can say is that it probably isn't long. To be honest, I'm surprised that you're still breathing."_

_He'd winced. "And Sasuke? How long has...?"_

_"No more than a week or so. Tsunade just recieved the news the same day that Sakura brought you to the Hokage."_

Naruto groaned and pulled the pillow from the back of his head in order to cover his face with it. He felt like suffocating himself and getting it over with since he was going to die anyway. But he barely gave the fleeting thought any real consideration before he lifted the pillow off of his face.

"I'm guessing you're not doing too well," A voice spoke from the door.

Naruto jumped and sat up, looking over at the doorway and seeing Kakashi looking back at him. He forced himself to smile and waved at his former sensei. "Worse than you think, Kakashi-sensei. Way worse."

The jounin came fully into the room and took a seat beside Naruto's bed. "I heard about your troubles. I passed Jiraiya-sama in the hall. Want to talk about it?"

"No offense sensei, but I doubt you'd understand," he grumbled, laying back down.

"Oh really?" Kakashi mused. He leaned back in his chair, eyes never leaving his former student. "Let me give it a shot, eh? I'm guessing that you're feeling lower than dirt right about now. Worthless. You feel like you failed to save your friend and you deserve to die because of it."

"Well, you always said those people were worse than trash," Naruto muttered.

"You're twisting my words, Naruto. I said that those who _abandon_ their friends are scum. You didn't abandon Sasuke. He abandoned you."

"You don't get it, Kakashi. He needed me. He was falling into the darkness and I wasn't even paying attention enough to save him. I _did_ abandon him, and now he's dead because of it. I deserve what's coming to me..."

"You don't really think that, Naruto."

"Then why is this happening to me!" Naruto shouted so loudly that Kakashi actually flinched. "If I don't deserve this, then why is it happening to me? Why am I dying?"

Kakashi frowned, scooting his chair back a few inches. "I can't answer that, Naruto. I don't have all the answers."

"I told you that you wouldn't understand..."

"That's not it at all. I do get it. Look Naruto, I've lived longer than you. I know twice the pain of loss that you do. You and I haven't really been fortunate in life, but it could be worse."

"What's a fate worse than death?"

"Knowing that you're going to die and then knowing you didn't do a thing with the time you had left."

Naruto's eyes flickered to the single visible eye of his sensei. "What do you mean?"

"Many people never know when they're going to die until it happens. You're _lucky,_ Naruto. You know and now you can use the time you have left to make things better for those that you're leaving behind." Kakashi leaned forward, into Naruto's face.

Naruto looked at his former sensei with raised eyebrow. "What things are you talking about?"

"Sasuke. You say that he needed you? Then go and save him."

"He's _dead_, Kakashi. It's too late for that."

"No, it's not, Naruto. Sasuke's been taken over by someone who is using his body. Do you think he wants to live that way? Would you?"

Instantly Naruto thought about how life would be if Kurai got a hold of his body. He shook his head. "No, I wouldn't. But even if what you're saying is true, Sasuke's still gone from this world. There's no saving him, just like there's no saving me," he muttered.

"Maybe he's gone from this world forever. I'm not sure that there's any way to get his body back for him. But there is a way to save him."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei. "How? If I can't get his body back for him and he's basically stuck inside of his head, how am I supposed to save him?"

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "Free the spirit from the body, Naruto. You said yourself that you wouldn't want to live that way."

Alarm flashed across Naruto's face. "You want me to _kill_ him? Kakashi-sensei, I couldn't! Sasuke... He's..."

"He's your friend."

"Right! I can't kill my friends!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you rather him go through eternity without peace? Is that the fate you reserve for your friends?"

"W-Well, no but..." Naruto sighed, forcing himself to relax and gather his thoughts before he continued. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't think I could do it. I know I wouldn't. I can't kill Sasuke. I won't," he said with finality.

Kakashi sighed, suddenly standing from his seat. "Alright then. It seems like you've made up your mind. I can't force you to change it. But before I go, I want you to remember something. I never got the chance to save my friends. They all suffered and I couldn't do a thing to save them. When I die, I'm going to die full of regrets. Is that how you want to die, Naruto?" And then the silver-haired Jounin turned and left the room.

Naruto watched him go with a scowl on his face. Kakashi was right, he couldn't make him change his mind. It was made up. He wouldn't kill Sasuke; he refused to let his friend's blood be on his hands. If Kakashi wanted to save Sasuke so badly, he could do it himself.

_''__In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'_

Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fists in frustration. No, he wouldn't do it. He _couldn't_ do it. Even if he was to find Orochimaru and engage him in battle, there was no way to win. If he couldn't beat the real Sasuke, how was he going to defeat a sannin in Sasuke's body? He'd fail and probably speed up his own death.

_'...those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'_

Was that what he had become now? Was he trash?

_'Deadlast.'_

_'Loser.'_

Was Kurai right? Was he worthless?

_'Worse than trash.'_

* * *

**[One month later]**

Naruto was worried about Sakura. Something was wrong with her but he just couldn't put his finger on it. She didn't seem _sick_ exactly. She only had some minor spells of nausea, in the mornings and sometimes when she smelled things that she didn't like. Unfortunately, ramen made her nauseas so he wasn't allowed to eat it in the house anymore or come straight home after a meal at Ichiraku's. He had to go for a walk and let the smell air off of him.

And Sakura was a lot more testy lately, which was killing Naruto slowly. She never had a very good temper to begin with, so now it was like living with a junior Tsunade on steroids. Most of the time, Naruto put _himself_ on the couch at night just so he wouldn't have to deal with her yelling about his snoring.

But he still worried about her. So the first thing he did one morning after dressing was offer to walk Sakura to work.

"Excuse me?" The pinkette asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto shuffled nervously. "I um wanna walk you to work this morning."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing else to do."

Which made Sakura relent. She knew how bored Naruto was at home now that Tsunade personally took him off of missions. The most action Naruto ever got was when he volunteered to patrol the borders. And even that was boring to him. So they set out for the hospital together.

When they arrived, Sakura expected Naruto to leave and head back home. But instead he followed her to the front desk.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the blonde.

Naruto froze, fearing one of those scary moodswings she was prone to experiencing. He swallowed and scratched the back of his head innocently. "I just wanted to ask Ino something."

"What do you want with _her?"_

_"_W-Well I-I just... I thought..."

"Do you have a secret crush on her, Naruto?"

"What? No!"

"Do you think she's pretty?"

"Sakura no I-!"

"Is she prettier than me?" she asked dangerously, cracking her knuckles.

"No! No, of course not, Sakura-chan. I just -"

Thankfully, the blonde kunoichi in question appeared from around the corner. She noticed the exchange and quickly stepped in between the 'arguing' couple. "Hey hey, Forehead. Don't kill him. I did his check-up last week and he probably just wants to know the results," she excused.

Naruto breathed out in relief when Sakura's anger instantly dissolved. "Oh. Why didn't you just say that, Naruto-kun?"

"I was busy trying to decide whether or not to protect my face," he muttered, sweatdropping.

Sakura waved him off. "Tell me your results later, alright Naruto-kun? I have to run." She leaned past Ino and kissed the blonde boy's cheek, smiling. "Love you!" And with that she pranced off.

Once she pink-haired girl disappeared, Ino wiped invisible sweat off her brow. "Wow, talk about moodswings. Anyway, what is it that you really wanted to talk to me about, Naruto?" she asked, turning to face him.

Naruto pointed in the direction his girlfriend disappeared in. "Her," he whispered, voice frightened. "I think she's going crazy. One second she's happy, then she's mad, then she's said, and then she loves me. And some days she's puking all morning and then suddenly she's okay again. And don't get me started on the smell of ramen," he muttered, crossing his arms.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "You say she's sick in the mornings?"

Naruto nodded. "And when she smells ramen."

Ino frowned in concentration. '_Sounds a lot like..._' Suddenly, she pushed Naruto towards the hospital entrance doors. "Alright, don't you worry Naruto. I'll take good care of her. Go home and relax. By the time she gets home tonight she'll be much better," she said mischievously. "Or she'll be crying. It all depends."

"On what, Ino?"

"On how she takes the news. Okay then, bye-bye!" she said, tossing him out of the hospital. Naruto landed outside on his ass, feeling more confused than ever. Was every girl in Konoha going crazy?

* * *

**[The Hyuuga Compound]**

Hinata sat on her bed, silent tears rolling down her face.

"Are you even listening to me, you stupid child?" Hiashi screamed at her like he'd been doing for the past hour and a half since the council left their home and she 'made a fool out of him'. In actuality, all that she had done was not speak like usual when Utatane Koharu asked her how she had been. She only smiled, which the councilwoman took goodnaturedly and moved on. But apparently Hiashi wasn't as forgiving as the old woman was.

Hinata lifted her chin to look at her father and nodded.

Her head whipped to the side and her cheek burned angrily as Hiashi slapped her. "Open your mouth and speak to me when I'm talking to you!" he shouted.

Hinata scowled in her own mind. "_Why don't you make up your own mind?"_ she thought angrily.

A very similar memory flashed in her head. '_I never want to hear another word out of your foolish mouth as long as I live. You're an embarrassment to me and your clan! You make me regret the day you were even concieved!'_

Another fat, hot tear rolled down her face at the unwelcome memory.

"You're so weak, Hinata. Why are you crying?"

'_You just hit me, you bastard!' _Hinata's thoughts screamed.

Hiashi rolled his eyes at her angry expression and silent mouth. He turned away from her. "I almost saw promise in you," he muttered, shaking his head. "But you're nothing but a regret to me." He walked out of her room.

Hinata grit her teeth and tried to make the anger go away but for some reason this time, it wouldn't. This time, her anger wouldn't be ignored or pushed down. It needed an outlet. For the first time, Hinata needed to vent. With teeth still clenched, she grabbed a pen and paper and climbed out of her window in order to avoid running into her father again.

* * *

**A/N Early update! This chapter is kind of a filler so I decided to post it early and (hopefully) update this story again this weekend like I'm supposed to. Hopefully. But so I know that people read this chapter and updating again so soon won't make people lost, a review or two would kind of give me the go-ahead to add the new chapter.**

**And I know the Hinata thing at the end was kind of... random. But I didn't want to put it off for another chapter. So there ya go :)**

**Also, the Sakura thing that most of you probably assumed about is very necessary. Naruto needs it as his catalyst to get better. You want a healthy Naruto, don'tcha? :)**

**Anyway, any more questions? Comments? Any concerns? What about CONSTRUCTIVE criticism? Let me know and REVIEW!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Everyone thank**

**25BAM50  
oksus  
Zatheko  
The Keeper of Worlds  
Foxxel  
portalmaster  
Deadman19**

**for reviewing last chapter. They are the reasons you get 2 chapters in one week :]**

* * *

**Chapter 37**

It was fairly easy for Ino to find Sakura, thanks to a copy of her rounds schedule that she received from the nurse at the front desk. So less than fifteen minutes from when she kicked Naruto out of the hospital she was standing in the doorway of the exam room where the pink haired medic was doing a check-up on a four year old child.

"Open your mouth," Sakura was instructing the child, tickling his little sides. The brunette child shrieked in delight and squirmed away from Sakura's tickling hands, mouth wide open in a laugh so that Sakura could slide the tongue depressor in his mouth.

"No faih!" the child whined, pouting.

Sakura smiled, poking his nose teasingly. "Medicine isn't fair, sweetie. I have to make sure you're healthy." She moved to tickle the child again but the boy stealthy flinched out of the way. He stuck his tongue out at her, making the tongue depressor drop. Sakura frowned, picking up the wooden stick and tossing it in the trash bin. "Now Ichigo, if you continue to misbehave I'll have to reconsider that little treat I was thinking of giving you."

"Treat? What kind of treat?"

"It's a surprise. You'll have to be good in order to get it, alright?"

"Okay!"

Ino smiled at the door at how well Sakura interacted with the child. Ino was a little afraid that her moodswings would scare off all the younger patients. But she seemed to be handling them well. Good. Maybe she would even be good with one of her own...

Ino cleared her throat, causing the pinkette to jump and whirl around. When she saw that it was only her platinum blonde best friend in the doorway, she sighed. "Ino, you scared the he- ahem, you scared me. What are you doing here? This isn't on your rounds, is it?" As if second guessing herself, Sakura reached for her own clipboard she left on the counter. "How is Naruto doing? Were his results good?"

Ino had almost forgotten about her hastily thought excuse to get Naruto out of trouble. "Oh um, yep. He's as fit as a fiddle."

Sakura smiled to herself. "Good. Nothing too weird, right?"

Ino shook her head. "Nope. Actually, I was looking for you."

"Oh? Well, can it wait? I'm kind of busy," she said offhandedly, looking into Ichigo's throat and then taking the tongue depressor away and tossing it in the trash. She ruffled the little boy's hair and then put her stethoscope into her ears and pressed the metal end to the young boy's chest.

Ino smirked, leaning against the archway of the door. "I figured now was as good a time as any. From what I heard, you and Naruto have been getting pretty busy yourselves."

She watched as Sakura's hands froze while checking the boy's breathing. The stethoscope dropped from her hands as the pinkette turned slowly to face her. Her cheeks were bright red with the signs of a blush. Apparently she understood the intended innuendo. "Excuse me?"

Ino continued to smile mischievously. "I don't think we should be having this conversation in front of a little boy. Want to come out into the hall with me?"

"Ino, I am with a _patient_," Sakura seethed. "Now is _not_ the time for one of your gossip sessions!"

Ino smiled. "I can wait then. But this is kind of juicy. I think you'd want to know sooner rather than later. Pretty important," she baited.

Sakura turned back to the boy in a show of ignoring her, but Ino could tell that she was interested. The pink haired girl loved gossip just as much as the next girl, despite how much she tried to deny it. "Does it have to do with Naruto?"

Ino shrugged. "A little."

Sakura groaned quietly which discomforted the young child on her exam table. The bubbliness had disappeared and now he looked like he couldn't wait to get out of the doctor's office; he was no longer comfortable. Once she saw how upset he was becoming, Sakura pinched his cheek and walked over to the counter and opened a drawer. From it she retrieved a sucker, handing it to the child. "You've been good enough, huh? Wouldn't hurt to give it to you early."

The child brightened. "Thanks Sakura-chan," he replied graciously and in no time the sucker was in his mouth and he was happy again. This left Sakura free to finish his exam without the worry of a fit being thrown in the middle of it. When she was finished she helped the boy off the table and followed him as he practically ran to his mother in the waiting room, Ino following the both of them. When Sakura was sure he was safe with his parent, she turned to her best friend in frustration. "Now explain what the hell was so damn important that you had to interrupt me while I was administering an exam," she hissed.

Ino didn't seem bothered by the pinkette's mood change. She was expecting it. "So. You and Naruto, huh?"

Sakura could tell that this was going to be a long, drawn out explanation. She rubbed her forehead and made her way to the hallway to get a snack from the vending machine. "Ino, almost the entire village knows that he and I are together now. If that is your gossip, you're about two months too late," she muttered, inserting her money.

Ino leaned against the wall as Sakura retrieved the candy bar that dropped from the machine. "That's not what I'm getting at."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, munching on the chocolate that she'd been craving for about two hours. "Then what _are_ you getting at, Pig?"

Ino smirked. "How long have the two of you been doing it?"

Sakura almost spit out the bits of candy she was chewing. "Excuse me?" she sputtered. "Did Naruto...?"

"No. Not directly anyway. But he's been pretty worried about you lately. Says you're sick and crazy."

The candy was suddenly crushed in the python-like grip of the pink haired kunoichi. "He said I was _crazy_?" she hissed in anger. Ino could see the sudden animosity towards the blonde boy spike inside of her best friend.

Ino smiled. "Mhm," she said mischievously. "But I can see why. With the moodswings you're having. But that's not the point here. Sakura, when was your last... you know?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Your last... visitor. Your 'monthly' visitor," Ino whispered.

Sakura continued to look confused until what Ino was asking suddenly dawned on her. Her shoulders slumped and her body seemed to suddenly sag downwards in distress. "You don't think...?"

Ino retrieved a stick shaped test and the materials needed for blood extraction from inside her weapons pouch. "Well, there's two ways to find out."

* * *

Hinata walked quickly out of her compound and then through the bright streets of Konoha, head down as she furiously scribbled a long letter on a piece of paper. As she walked she was sure that people were greeting ehr but she was too busy focusing to worry about responding. If they thought that she was being rude, she would deal with it later.

She reached her destination and traveled up the steps, just barely finishing her hastily scribbled note as she knocked harshly at the door.

There was a pause and then it slid open to reveal a sleey-eyed Inuzuka boy. Leave it to Kiba to still be asleep at noon on a bright day like this one. "Hinata-chan?" he squeaked in surprise. He had a right to be shocked; they hadn't really talked or spoken to one another since he stormed out of her house.

Without a word, Hinata threw her arms around Kiba's neck and flung her body against him, weeping. Somewhere down the road her anger and frustration had developed into sorrow.

Kiba didn't know what else to do. He gently patted her back. "Uh, there-there? What's the matter?"

Hinata had a crumbled note in her fist. She pulled her arm from around his neck and handed it to him, but before he had a chance to read it she blurted, "I'm sorry, Kiba-kun." As in, she spoke actual words. She made _sounds_.

Kiba stood there, utterly stunned.

* * *

**[That night]**

Sakura didn't get home until late, so Naruto was already halfway through making a dinner for two when she walked into the room feeling exhausted beyond measure. She tried to ignore the scent of spices coming from the kitchen and the sudden lurch she felt in her stomach at the smell. Was he cooking ramen? Bastard. He did this to her and now he was torturing her with poison.

She groaned and slammed the door behind her, taking off her shoes as she walked past the kitchen and into the living room. She had just flopped down when Naruto appeared in her peripheral vision, looking nervous.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Did you talk to Ino?"

Sakura flicked her eyes to Naruto, narrowing them. "Naruto, for your benefit, I suggest you go and take that _damn_ ramen off the stove before you try and speak to me," she growled. "I told you the smell of it makes me sick."

Naruto paled and rushed into the kitchen. "S-Sorry, Sakura-chan! Ino told me you would be better so I decided to celebrate..." There was the sound of pots and pans clanging together and then the sound of running water before the smell disappeared. Sakura's stomach slowly relaxed and she stretched herself out on the couch, pulling one of the pillows under her head.

Naruto came back and sat down at her feet anxiously, pulling them into his lap and massaging them for her. "Did you talk to Ino?"

Sakura sighed, covering her closed eyes with her forearm. "Yes."

"And?"

"And I don't want to talk about it. Not right now."

Naruto frowned and stopped rubbing her feet. "Is it bad?"

"Depends."

"On?"

Sakura swallowed nervously and turned her head away from him. "On your thoughts on children. Your _own_ children."

It took Naruto a moment before what Sakura was saying clicked into his head. "You mean..."

Sakura nodded slowly. "...I'm pregnant."

"Wh- H-how?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "I shouldn't have to explain the birds and the bees to you at eighteen, Naruto. Really, I should have expected it. We haven't exactly been smart about our 'activities'," she muttered, sighing to herself. "I can't believe I was so stupid, actually."

Naruto's hands instinctively fell onto Sakura's stomach where a tiny child was growing. "I mean... do you know when?"

"I'm obviously not very far along. I got a false negative on the first test so Ino had to do a blood test to be sure. And those are pretty accurate. But assuming, I'm not more than a month at the very most. It could have been any time. Hell, it could have been our first time together. Or - " Suddenly she paused, sitting up straight in panic. Her eyes grew wide as she scrambled off the couch, pacing the floor in front of the now confused Naruto. "Oh, _fuck."_

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura covered her face and looked distressed enough to cry. "My baby might be a monster," she whimpered.

Naruto instantly became defensive. "What do you mean by _that_?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

But Sakura was too worried and mentally exhausted to deal with Naruto's hurt feelings at maybe being called a monster. She had no energy to pat his injured ego. "Not you, baka. I mean the evil you. What if it wasn't _you_ that did it? What if it was _him_?" They hadn't ever talked about what happened between her and Kurai since that moment when he woke up in the hospital. They never had a chance to go over the details with one another, not that either of them remembered very much other than what Kurai wanted them to know. "What if my baby comes out evil?"

"That's impossible," Naruto muttered, shaking his head.

"What do you mean it's impossible? It's _very_ possible, Naruto!"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's impossible because nothing happened between the two of you. Nothing that could get you pregnant anyway. He showed me. Besides, I'm sure it doesn't matter if Kurai had sex with you or I did. We have the same body and DNA. He told me so himself," he muttered, suddenly exhausted himself.

Sakura noticed Naruto's expression and instantly crawled into his lap, resting her forehead on his chest. "I'm scared, Naruto," she said under her breath, feeling like she was still in danger of crying. She didn't _want_ to be pregnant. The idea scared the hell out of her!

Naruto patted her back. "It's okay, Sakura-chan, don't worry. I'm here and I'll take care of you. Everything will be okay."

* * *

**[A few hours later]**

Normally Naruto was the first one to fall asleep but tonight Sakura was the first to fall peacefully into dreamland. Shortly after he assured her that everything would be alright, the pinkette's worries about the child they were having together seemed to vanish. Suddenly she was overcome with the excitement of motherhood and all she could talk about for the rest of the night was baby stuff. Nurseries and baby names and things of the like.

But now her worries seemed to transfer onto him. _Would_ things be alright? Sure, he was there now but how much longer would he be? He was sure that he wasn't going to survive another nine months, and therefore would probably be dead much before his child was born. And what would Sakura tell their baby about him? That he was too much of a coward to save his friend? That he spent his last days sitting around the house because he was banned from being a ninja? What would their child think of him? Would his son or daughter think he was weak? A failure?

He shot up in bed, shaking Sakura awake. The pinkette grumbled, shuffling in bed and curling up tighter against his side. "Wha is it, Naru-kun?" she mumbled sleepily, not even opening her eyes.

"I can't sleep. I'm going for a walk," he replied.

Her eyes fluttered open, looking confused. "This late? Naruto, it's..." She paused to check her alarm clock on the bedside table. "... barely four in the morning."

"It'll be quick and I'll be back before you get up for your shift at the Hokage's office. Okay?" He kissed her lips and got up, getting dressed.

Sakura nodded and snuggled back into her blankets to get comfortable. "Be careful," she yawned before her eyes closed again.

Naruto smiled and tiptoed out of the room, heading out of the apartment and towards his old sensei's home.

* * *

**[Inuzuka Compound]**

Kiba sat holding Hinata and rubbing her back as she tried to regain her composure. She sniffled and whimpered like a child might and he found it pretty hard not to be angry with her. She _did_ break his heart, but she just seemed so innocent...

"Kiba-kun," Hinata whimpered.

Kiba jumped. He was still having a hard time getting used to hearing her voice. "Yeah, Hina-chan?"

She sniffed. "I do love you, too, you know. I just... I love him, too."

Kiba stiffened. He moved Hinata out of his lap, looking away. "I don't know if that's enough for me."

"Well why not?" she asked, looking like she might start pouting. "Why can't it be enough that I love you, too? At least I love you."

"Because it's not fair. Why do I have to share your heart when you have my full and devoted attention?"

"There's room for more than one boy in my heart, Kiba-kun."

"See! That's the problem! I want to be the only one!"

"Why?"

"Because you're the only girl I've ever loved and ever will love. There is no need for me to have enough room for two, because I only need you."

"You say that until you find someone else."

Kiba slapped his own forehead. "Don't you get it!? There will _never_ be anyone else! It's you, Hinata. You're it for me. And if you won't have me, alone, then... I guess that's the end of my love story."

Hinata frowned, reaching and grabbing his hand. "That's sad," she muttered.

"No, that's love."

* * *

**[Kakashi's apartment]**

Naruto knocked hard against the door and paused, waiting. A few seconds later, an annoyed jounin appeared at the door. And strangely enough, the odd silver-haired man had his mask on. Did he sleep in the damned thing? "Naruto, what are you doing here? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sakura's pregnant, sensei," he blurted.

Kakashi's gaze instantly went from annoyed to amused. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against his doorway. "Oh? Is it yours?""

Naruto ignored the obvious jab. "Yes. And I want to take you up on that mission you gave me at the hospital. I want to save Sasuke."

Kakashi looked confused. "That was unexpected. I would think parenthood would make you more resolute in your decision."

"I don't want my kid to grow up thinking I was a failure. Years of my life are wasted and I can't ever get them back to try to do something great with them. I won't ever become hokage and I won't have a legacy to leave behind for my child. Maybe no one will ever acknowledge me the way that I dreamed, but I at least want my child to think I did something worthwhile with my last days. I don't want to be a deadlast in its eyes."

Kakashi's expression sombered and he stepped back, allowing Naruto into his apartment. "Alright then, let's begin talking details."

* * *

The next morning Naruto returned to his apartment carrying the large green pack Kakashi gave him with supplies for his journey. It held maps, kunai, shuriken, sealing scrolls, food rations, and basically everything he would need for a long trip despite Kakashi's assurances that Naruto wouldn't be away from his freshly pregnant Sakura-chan for very long - that is, if he survived. The silver haired jounin had told him that he would locate Sasuke's position on his own, making Naruto's only mission to go there and assassinate him.

When he entered the home, he immediately spotted Sakura lying wide awake on the couch and looking ill. He frowned. "I thought you had to work with Baa-chan this morning?" He dropped the bag and walked over, sitting down beside her feet.

Sakura shrugged, shifting until her head laid comfortably in his lap, eyes closed. "That was the plan, but your brat decided to make me sick this morning," she muttered.

Naruto smirked. "Has the thrill of pregnancy worn off already? You were excited before bed last night."

"That wore off about an hour into leaning against the toilet and hating your guts for doing this to me," she replied. She sighed. "What are you doing back so late, anyway? You left six hours ago."

Naruto shrugged. "I met up with Kakashi. We were talking about this mission he wants me to do."

Sakura squinted an eye open at him. "Tsunade banned you from all missions, Naruto," she reminded him.

"I know, I know. But I figured this was something I needed to do. I don't want to sit around the house waiting to die anymore. It's... depressing." The blonde scrunched up his face.

Sakura rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her pink locks. "You're just lucky Tsunade didn't put you on bedrest like she really should have," she said under her breath. "So what does he have for you? A D-rank? I didn't want to bring this up before, but I was going to suggest maybe you could ask Tsunade if you could try those out while you can. I was thinking I could work a few more hours at the hospital and in the Hokage's office and take a few low-ranked missions until I start to show so that we can have a little more money when the baby comes. I mean, we're going to be parents in roughly nine month's time. I figured we needed to start saving."

Naruto nodded. "Good idea. I'll have Kakashi pay you once it's all over. I'm sure he can afford it. Or he'll find a way to, I'm sure."

Sakura looked confused. "Pay me? Why not pay you? You're doing the mission."

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Because... this isn't a D-ranked mission. It's more like an S-rank. And there's a very strong possibility that I won't be coming back. As a matter of fact, I'm positive of it. But on the bright side, I'm sure you and the baby will be set for a while on the money I earn from it."

Sakura instantly turned pale and shot up to glare at him. "Tell me that you're just making an stupid joke, Naruto. You did _not_ accept an S-rank mission when you're not even able to do D-ranks!"

Naruto continued to rub his head. "If I told you that, I'd be lying. And you told me not to do that anymore."

"What the hell kind of mission is so important that you would risk your life for it, you idiot!?"

"... I'm going to kill Sasuke."

Sakura's face instantly turned bright red and she jumped up from the couch, heading towards the door. "I'm telling Tsunade."

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was in front of the door and blocking Sakura's path. "I can't let you do that, Sakura-chan."

"Move, Naruto," the pregnant woman growled, her fists glowing.

"Don't fight me on this, Sakura. I need to do this. If Tsunade found out, I'd never be able to get out of the village. She wouldn't let me leave the house!"

"That's the point."

"Sakura, _please_. If I don't do this, Orochimaru keeps Sasuke's body and our friend is trapped I can set Sasuke free, kill Orochimaru, and prevent that snake bastard from ever hurting anyone else, Sakura. I have to-" Suddenly he gasped, leaning forward and clutching at his chest. Sharp needles of pain were attacking his heart.

Sakura instantly gripped his shoulders and helped him to the ground. There, Naruto leaned his head against the door and Sakura watched as blood began dripping from his nose. Sakura wiped it away with her thumb and tilted his head back to stop the blood as she pressed her ear against his chest. She frowned, hearing the sporadic and irregularly quick beats of his heart like an offbeat drum. She leaned away, staring at Naruto as he looked back at her dazedly. "See Naruto? This is why you can't do this. You're not well."

"I'll never be well again, Sakura. I know you wish it was different, but I'm going to die soon and there's nothing you can do to stop it or slow it down. You might as well let me go." He coughed into his hand, breathing in deeply with a bit of difficulty. "I don't want to die in this apartment. I don't want to die sick. If I'm going to die, I want to die a true shinobi's death."

Sakura felt her eyes watering. "So you _would_ be going to die."

Naruto smiled sadly at her. "This is the way it was supposed to be, Sakura. Me and Sasuke's bond is too great for one of us to die. When I go to kill Sasuke, I won't be coming back."

Sakura inhaled shakily. "When would you be leaving?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not sure. Kakashi still has to find him before I go."

She simply nodded, not saying a word. She got up from where she stood and walked to the bedroom in the back, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

**A/N SAKURA'S PREGNANT! Yes indead, she has a bun in the oven. Although she wasn't very excited about it at first... **

**Naruto accepted Kakashi's mission but Sakura doesn't approve... I wonder how _that_ will turn out. **

**Eh, the KibaHina is getting frustrating to me. I kept revising their scene until I just said FORGET IT! And, there ya go :) But I promise, things will work out for them. **

**Special, special, special thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter! I really appreicate it! As promised, this was your second chapter for this week. And to be honest, I enjoyed writing this quickly :) But, knowing me, you really shouldn't get too used to it x]**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns? REVIEW!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Okay, a lot of people are having an issue with something so I decided to clear this up since it was a really weird plot twist:**

**See, Sakura was under the impression that it was Kurai but Kurai just made her believe it in order to mess with her and Naruto a little. Naruto and Sakura's first was REALLY their first.  
**

**Also, thanks to:**

**Zatheko  
25BAM50  
The Keeper of Worlds  
ahmadaziz  
Deadman19  
The portalmaster  
luksgermani**

**for reviewing last chapter. Your encouragement means the world to me :)**

* * *

**Chapter 38**

**[Four months later]**

"You've been cheating this whole time, Oji!" The young man shouted as he scowled across the playing table at the much older man. The young player didn't look more than eight years old, though he'd been around for much longer than anyone could count. He was thin but healthy, with the adorably chubby cheeks of childhood and eyes filled with the innocence that adults lacked. He looked like the embodiment of Light, with shiny eyes that glistened like tiny suns and pale yellow hair.

"What do you mean, gaki?" the old man growled, not amused at being called a cheater. Unlike the young man across from him, the old man was... well, old. His face was ashen gray with white hairs that grew above his mouth and on his chin. His eyes were dark and endless, like staring into a black hole, and his mouth looked as if it hadn't smiled in centuries. He had been around much longer than the child had.

The young child who glowed with light pointed at the gameboard littered with coins. It was clearly not a game ever seen played on Earth. "You're trying to make me give up my favorite piece when you still have yours!" the child complained.

The old man studied the board with calculating eyes. "I can't play with him anymore," he said simply.

"He's still _there_."

"So?" The old man asked childishly.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "_So_ you can't make me give mine up when yours isn't gone!"

"Oh, you weren't going to let him go anyhow," the old man muttered, waving his hand. "It's been four new moons since you said you would, yet he's still on the board."

The "gaki" stuck his bottom lip out, snatching the piece off the board. "Fine! We'll set them aside at the same time."

"Oji" took his piece up, too. He clasped it around his wrinkling fingers. "Fine. One... Two..."

"Three!"

A pause.

"Oji, you didn't do it!"

"Neither did you, gaki!"

* * *

Jiraiya and Tsunade were stumped. It had been months since the news of Sasuke's death and yet the beloved Uzumaki boy was still living and breathing. Granted, he wasn't his healthiest - he'd had a collapsed lung and a broken rib in the time that passed (his body was beginning to become fragile) - but he wasn't dead. And the two sannin were beginning to wonder if Ogama's senility was affecting his prophesies.

"Maybe you should go back, Jiraiya. Maybe you missed something," Tsunade murmured, leaning back in her chair.

The toad sannin shook his head. "No, I know for a fact that I got every bit of the story from the old toad hermit. Light chose Naruto, Dark chose Sasuke, yadda yadda, Sasuke dies then so does Naruto." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure that what you heard about Sasuke was true?"

"My informant is trustworthy. I'm more than certain that if he said that Sasuke was taken over, he was taken over."

"This doesn't make any sense, then. If everything is true, Naruto should be long gone by now. Somehow the pieces of the puzzle aren't adding up."

* * *

Kakashi watched Naruto warily from across the span of the training grounds. The blonde was already in a fighting stance but the older jounin wasn't quite sure if this was such a good idea. "I'm not sure about this, Naruto. Sakura will have my head if I hurt you. And I like it where it is. On my shoulders."

Naruto scoffed. "Who said you'd be able to hurt me?"

"Okay, let's work out a little bit of scenario calculus here, alright? _I_ am a jounin, Naruto. _You_ are a genin. _I_ am at my best right now. _You_ are actually not even supposed to be standing. Do you get where I'm going with this? I _will_ hurt you."

The blonde never got out of his stance. "If you're so concerned, why not go easy on me?" he asked before speeding towards Kakashi with the same speed he gave Kiba during their match, fist raised to deliver a punch to the masked man's jaw.

Kakashi sidestepped him, grasping the blonde's wrist and using it to send the younger man to the ground. Then he flashed away, frowning beneath his mask. "Sakura will kill me," he repeated, tone deadpan. The last thing he wanted was an angry, pregnant kunoichi chasing him around the village and trying to castrate him. He shuddered at the mere thought of it.

Naruto grunted and climbed off the ground, wiping a spot of dirt off his cheek. "She can barely get up on her own right now. I doubt she could hurt you. Don't tell me you're scared of her, Kakashi-sensei."

"As a matter of fact, I am."

Naruto rolled his eyes and made a single handsign for a jutsu. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he called. Instantly clouds of smoke exploded around the young blonde and when they cleared they revealed five clones standing to the left and right of him.

"You can't make me fight you, Naruto."

The jinchuuriki didn't answer. He only darted forward with his clones flanking him. Kakashi figured he was going for another head-on attack, and braced himself to fend off the many Narutos. But merely a few feet from connecting, the clones leapt into the air at once and connected their identical bodies by the hands and ankles until a chain of Narutos was formed with Naruto at the very bottom. With what appeared to be a great deal of effort, the original blonde shinobi pulled his arms down and flung the chain of Narutos towards Kakashi like a whip.

Shocked, Kakashi barely had time to roll out of the way of the impact, but he managed to get away with only a tear in the shoulder of his shirt. Apparently, the clone at the top of the chain was armed with kunai in both hands. The clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke with the impact and the only Naruto that remained was the original. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Why do you feel the need to do this, Naruto? You're going to tear your body to shreds and you'll be useless for the assassination," he chastised.

"I haven't exercised or trained in _months_. Leaving me to sit around and save my strength is only making me rusty and I'll be unprepared to fight Orochimaru when the time comes," Naruto answered, catching his breath from the last jutsu. "I need to do _some_ training. At least I know that if I can't beat you in a sparring match, then I'll probably die way before I have a chance to kill Sasuke."

Kakashi stood up from the crouch he was in from his roll, looking thoughtfully across at his former student. "And if you hurt yourself here?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'd rather hurt myself sparring than kill myself on a mission I was unprepared for."

The masked jounin sighed heavily, sliding into a stance. "Alright then. If you insist - "

Suddenly the earth shook beneath Kakashi's feet, nearly throwing him off balance had he not applied a bit of last-minute chakra to his feet. His eyes shot down just in time to spot a second Naruto appearing out of the ground, fingers poised to strike for his ass.

Alarmed and knowing what was coming, Kakashi quickly grasped the offending fingers as he leaped into the air, bringing the blonde with him and tossing him across the field.

"That isn't going to work for me," he taunted Naruto who hadn't moved from his position.

"I know," he heard shouted behind him, above the noise of whirling wind, "I just needed something to distract you."

He whirled in time to spot Naruto and a clone forming a rasengan in their joined hands, two pairs of fierce blue eyes staring back at him mockingly. The clone poofed away and Naruto charged at Kakashi, a smirk forming on his lips. Kakashi gasped and jumped into the air to dodge it, but Naruto only jumped up to meet him and extended his arm until the whirling sphere of chakra nearly touched Kakashi's jounin jacket. It wasn't a very big rasengan, but Kakashi could tell that it would sting.

He winced, bracing himself for the impact as he saw something flash in Naruto's eyes. Suddenly the blonde gasped and yanked his arm back roughly and the smell of burning wafted to Kakashi's nose as the rasengan burned Naruto's palm. Instantly the jutsu dissipated into thin air and the blonde fell back to Earth, yelping and grasping at his arm.

"Shit," Kakashi heard him gasp as he landed on his back. The jounin frowned and dropped down to the ground beside him, kneeling to look him over.

"What's wrong?" he asked, gingerly grabbing the arm that the young man was holding.

Naruto winced. "It's not my arm, it's my shoulder. I think I just," he hissed, "sprained it."

Kakashi looked skeptically at the arm. "I don't think that's a sprain, Naruto. With the way you're holding it, I think you just dislocated it when you yanked back. We should get it checked out," he suggested, rolling the shoulder a little and watching Naruto's forehead break into sweats.

"I can't - fuck, Kakashi! That hurts, you old bastard!" Naruto growled, glaring at his former sensei. "I can't go to the hospital. Sakura will tear me a new one."

"Well, we can't just leave it the way it is. If we don't get it popped in right away, an infection could settle in the area."

Naruto seemed to think about it. He moved his shoulder towards Kakashi. "Okay then, pop it back in."

Kakashi sweatdropped. "You want _me_ to do it?"

"Yes. We're ninjas. Ninjas do it all the time on missions."

"Yes, but that's because we don't have another option. Listen, popping a dislocated shoulder back in place is painful, Naruto, even in a hospital. I don't think you want me to do it."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "I know more about pain than anyone in this village, Kakashi. I think I can handle it. Come on, pop it back in," he urged him.

Kakashi shrugged. He wouldn't say that he hadn't warned him. He gingerly grasped the injured shoulder and, only slightly, jerked the two dislocated parts together.

Naruto screamed before the jounin could move the joint a centimeter. His face broke out in sweats and when Kakashi quickly let his shoulder go, he vomited onto the grass. "Oh, Kami," the blonde groaned.

Kakashi crossed his arm. "Told you so. Ready to go to the hospital now, big man?"

Naruto glared at him. "Fine."

No more than a few yards away, a tiny tan ninken with a konoha headband stood on the edge of the training grounds, waiting to attract the silver haired man's attention. He saw the ordeal with the blonde and decided it would be of interest to, instead, meet the pair at the hospital. He turned and left.

* * *

Sasuke sat in complete darkness, covering his eyes with his hands. Or, he covered what he _thought_ were his eyes with what he _thought_ were his hands. He was sure that his consciousness didn't possess a body anymore, so it was impossible to cover something that he didn't have with something he also no longer had. But he didn't like to dwell on the fact that he no longer possessed a body, so he pretended that he had one instead.

He sighed a breath from imaginary lungs. What had he done? What had become of him? He was the Uchiha avenger, the last of his clan. He was a prodigy. He was supposed to be the greatest ninja to spring from the ruins and destruction of the Uchiha past. But instead he was rotting within his own mind as a snake bastard occupied his body and misused the eyes that he, Sasuke, had fought so hard to obtain. He'd spilled _blood_ for those eyes! He'd killed his best friend for them, and for what? So Orochimaru could run around simply mastering different jutsus?

It sickened him. Everything he'd been through, everything that he'd done up to this point... It was for nothing. His betrayal to Konoha was for nothing. Turning his back on his friends was for nothing. Naruto's death was for _nothing_. None of it meant anything now because the power he sought for himself, the strength, was gone to him forever. All of that belonged to Orochimaru.

He would rather be dead, dead and gone, than suffer an eternity like this

* * *

Naruto flinched each time that Sakura threw another object across the room in anger. The pinkette kunoichi hardly had a very good temper to begin with, but now her anger pretty much _terrified_ him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Naruto? Do you want to die? Do you want your child to be born without a father, you selfish bastard?" Sakura screamed at him, holding up a fist as if she was about to bash his brains in. "What part of 'bedrest' don't you understand, baka?"

Naruto slumped in his bed, looking down at the arm that was currently in a sling to keep him from moving his shoulder. "I was just training..."

"Like an idiot," Sakura growled. "You told me you were just going to Ichiraku's!"

"I did go there! But then I saw Kakashi and he was on his way to train so I walked with him there and... one thing led to another," he explained sheepishly.

Sakura clonked him across the head wih her fist. "Baka!"

Kakashi stood near the door, deciding that the poor blonde had been punished enough. He stepped fuller into the room, clearing his throat. "Eh, Sakura, if you're done torturing Naruto, I would like to ask him a few questions myself."

Sakura turned away from Naruto, crossing her arms over her baby bump. "Go ahead. I can't stand much longer anyway," she grumbled, sitting her body down slowly in the bed beside Naruto's bed, groaning.

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask and stood at the end of Naruto's bed. "I've been wondering, Naruto. Why did you pull back so harshly with that rasengan?" Even as it had been coming towards him, the silver-haired man had already come up with ten ways to counter, block, or simply evade the attack. Naruto's help wasn't needed.

Naruto shrugged with his good shoulder, then looked down at his bandaged and burnt hand. "I was scared," he said bluntly.

"Of?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hurting you. The rasengan is powerful, too powerful to use against friends."

_**"You haven't learned not to pull back your own attacks yet, Kit?"**_

"Shut the fuck up and go away," Naruto muttered under his breath.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

But before the blonde could answer, the ninken made its appearance once again in a cloud of smoke. This time it sat in the window, face dull and unemotional. "Boss, I've got info," the small dog informed, sitting on its haunches.

Kakashi's spine straightened significantly. "Speak, Pakkun."

The dog rolled his eyes at the command but proceeded anyway. "The mission is complete. We found Uchiha Sasuke. He's in the Sound."

* * *

Tsunade sat behind the desk, her cup of sake untouched very unusually. She held her face in her hands, trying to make the pounding headache between her temples disappear. "How can this be so complicated?"

Jiraiya frowned. "It's probably simple. We're just overthinking it, making it more difficult than it has to be."

Tsunade sat up straighter, looking at the notes she'd taken on her desk. "We've gone over every detail, Jiraiya. But nothing is adding up. I love the fact that Naruto is alive, but it's frustrating me that we're in the dark as to _why_."

"Ogama-sennin has never been wrong before, I assure you."

Suddenly, the door opened and Shizune came rushing in. "G-Gomen, Tsunade-sama b-but - "

"Shizune, this better be damn important."

Shizune nodded. "I-It is, Tsunade-sama. Naruto-kun is in the hospital. He hurt himself."

* * *

Naruto swallowed as ice water ran through his veins. "Y-You found him?"

Kakashi nodded, looking out of the corner of his eye at Pakkun. "Apparently so. And time is officially of the essence. Orochimaru could change positions any day now."

Kakashi found Sasuke? So soon? But... But... he wasn't ready! He hadn't had a chance to come to terms with dying yet... he couldn't... he couldn't...

**"_What happened to your gung-ho spirit about killing us all,_ Kit?"** The fox's growl rattled in his ear mockingly.

'_Go away. I don't want to talk to you, furball.'_

Sakura looked just as panicked as Naruto felt. "But Kakashi, Naruto couldn't possibly go! He's injured," she pointed out, pointing at the injured body part.

Kakashi nodded slowly, looking him over. "I would have to say that he isn't exactly his best right now. But I don't know what else to do."

"He'll die if you send him out there! Think logically!" Sakura reprimanded.

Kakashi shot her a glare. "What do you _think_ I'm doing? I don't just have to worry about Naruto. I have to worry about _all_ of my teammates, Sasuke included."

"This has always been about Sasuke! You've never been concerned about Naruto's health. You've only ever cared about that traitorous bastard!" Sakura screamed.

"Sakura," a clipped voice interrupted the argument. All eyes turned to spot Jiraiya and Tsunade at the door. Neither one of them looked particularly happy. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Kakashi, were you thinking of sending _Naruto_ on an unauthorized mission, despite the fact that he's banned from them?"

The room was silent.

"You should probably answer her before she loses it," Jiraiya suggested, face grave.

Naruto bit his lip and sat up. "Tsunade, I can explain," he began.

"And you! You dislocated your shoulder training? You aren't even supposed to _be_ training!" Tsunade shouted. "Especially not for a mission you shouldn't be going on."

Kakashi slid his hands into his pockets. "Hokage-sama, with all due respect, Naruto _wants_ to go on this mission. He doesn't want to sit around waiting to die."

"That's selfish. That isn't his choice to make."

Naruto furrowed his brows. "Since when is it not my choice to die? Obviously, I don't have a choice whether I live or die. But I can at least choose how."

Tsunade's jaw clenched. "You have a baby on the way, Naruto. You have people who love you. You live for other people! You can't just toss your life away!"

"But baa-chan for the first time in a long time I feel like I'm alive," Naruto protested, sitting up, wincing.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You won't be alive for long if you keep behaving the way that you do. You are _sick, _brat. Your chakra is slowly eating away at your innards. Training and going on missions will do nothing more than speed up the process. You would never have lived as long as you did if you continued as you were before this whole time, and you won't live if you do it now. Which is why I can't trust you with your own life anymore. From now on, I'm assigning anbu to watch you and make sure you abide by your rules."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You can't do that! What about Sasuke?"

"He made his bed, and now he must lie in it. But I refuse to let Sasuke's mistakes affect your life or the lives of the ones who love you. From now on, it will be as I said."

Kakashi stepped forward. "Tsunade..."

Tsunade set her spine-chilling glare on the jounin. "And if I even hear you _breathe_ about this 'mission' again, I'll have a punishment severe enough for you that _you'll_ contemplate becoming a missing-nin." Her lips pressed into a firm line after the last words of her decree before she disappeared with Jiraiya behind her.

Naruto sat there, stunned. "I can't go after Sasuke?" he asked, her words only a breath. '_I don't _have _to go after Sasuke?'_

* * *

That night, in his dreams, Naruto found himself again facing the cage of the bijuu that he held captive within his body. He frowned, watching as the eyes appeared in the darkness.

_"**You're getting weaker. I can feel it. It won't be long now before you're gone and someone takes your place in your body," **_the bijuu started.

Naruto glared. _"Like you?"_

_**"It could be me. Or it could be Kurai, who you fear so much."**_

_"You wouldn't let Kurai have my body. You want to escape it too badly, and he'd never give up that much power. You're more powerful than him anyway, right?"_ Naruto said, trying to sound mocking.

The bijuu's eyes lowered until they were eye-level with the young Uzumaki's. **_"I'm still sealed, Brat. I don't have nearly as much power without you willing it through the seal. Kurai could easily overpower the both of us. There's no limit to his power here_."**

Naruto smirked. _"Then you should have thought of that before you tried to kill me."_

_**"I was trying to save you, you ungrateful human brat!"**_

_"And yet... I'm dying,"_ Naruto deadpanned.

A great wind rushed past Naruto's body, ruffling his clothes and hair as the great beast sighed. "**This argument is getting tiring, Kit. Let's not have it. But I only bring this up because I don't want Kurai to escape, and neither do you. In your mind he can only hurt you. Outside of your mind..."**

"He can hurt others."

**"And the first he'll go after is your precious Sakura-chan. He has a personal interest in her."**

Naruto frowned. _"How do I stop it? I can't fight him off. He'll just hide until he gets strong enough to kill me. And I'm getting weaker every day."_

_**"I hate myself for saying this, but it's just like you said. If we all die before he gets strong enough... no one loses," **_the fox hinted.

Naruto's eyes got wide. "_You want me to kill myself? I couldn't! No!"_

_**"Maybe not kill yourself but perhaps... get yourself killed. On that mission to rescue your little teammate You were planning to die there anyway, right?"**_

_"I can't. Tsunade forbids it. Plus, I'm in the hospital for my stupid shoulder and the second that I'm released she'll have anbu trailing me to make sure I don't do anything stupid."_

_**"Then leave. You've done it before."**_

Naruto was getting annoyed by this. _"I _can't_. My shoulder is dislocated. I can barely move it."_

_**"I'll heal it."**_

_"I can't trust you."_

_"**What do you have to lose? You're dying anyway. If I want you dead, I've already succeeded. You might as well take the little bit of help that I'm offering you, brat."**_

Naruto frowned. That made sense_..."I guess so..."_ He walked up closer to the cage, just as red chakra began to swirl around his body.

* * *

**A/N I hope you liked the game between Light and Dark, and the characters that they play. That isn't just random scene either, it has a purpose, trust me :)**

**And Naruto is obviously still going to kill Sasuke, where he plans to die. **

**Sakura, at this point, is around 5 months into the pregnancy. So there's a baby bump.**

**Jiraiya and Tsunade are confused.**

**Is that it? I think so... Yeah, that's it. **

**Also, I'm on Spring Break so I can actually update a lot faster if you want me to. But I need to know if you want me to. So, a simple review or something would let me know. Don't be shy :)**

**Comments? Questions? Concerns? REVIEW!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Thanks to:**

**Oksus  
25BAM50  
Foxxel  
zatheko  
Calcboy91  
Deadman19  
rocker101  
The portalmaster  
ahmadaziz  
Kita Me**

**For Reviewing last chapter. Thanks to you all and I'm sorry that you got an on-time update instead of an early one :( I tried, I swear! I also want to show my appreciation to you all for the reviews. Cuz I remember when I got close to zerio reviews for stories and now... yeah. :') So thank you. **

**And to answer some questions for people in order of appearance. **

**1) Naruto will not die. Naruto must live. That is all I will say. Don't worry about Sakura or the couple in general. Hardships make relationships grow stronger, right? Right? Heh heh.**

**2) I did the recap thing earlier and thought no one needed it because I started updating weekly again so I dropped it. But I shall do whatever makes it easier!**

**3) I will update faster. :]**

**4) I'm trying to work the romance in without jeopordizing the action so I have a nice balance since some people start wondering where one goes when I focus on the other. But don't worry, I get what you mean. The chapters have been depressing because I'm trying to work my way to the resolution. Also, Naruto's Legacy is taking a lot out of me. I need time to just sit down and focus on the romance so what I put out isn't... well, awful. AND OF COURSE I read the reviews. All of them. Like, three times so I make sure I let them all sink in. This review response thing was actually my way of showing that I read them and take them into consideration. **

**Now, On to the Story!**

* * *

_Recap:_

_It's been four months._

_Light and Dark, or Gaki and Oji as they refer to each other, are in the middle of a tense game where Darkness is accused of cheating because he refuses to give up his favorite playing piece but wants Lightness to give up his. The piece is no longer in Dark's control but is still somewhat operable on Dark's side. So, Gaki isn't giving up his piece because Dark still has his favorite._

_Naruto dislocated his shoulder fighting Kakashi because Naruto was afraid of the rasengan's power. This landed him in the hospital where Tsunade learns of his mission to kill Sasuke and promises to have anbu trailing him when he recovers enough to be discharged. Then he speaks with the Kyuubi for the first time in months and the bijuu heals his shoulder._

_Sasuke is stuck in his own subconscious due to Orochimaru taking him over. He is regretful and wishes to die rather than spend a lifetime trapped within a body that's no longer his._

* * *

**Chapter 39**

The following morning Naruto pulled his arm out of the sling and stretched it out in front of him. He winced at first, expecting his shoulder to at least be a little sore, but the arm felt as good as new. The Kyuubi really did a good job on the healing process. Which, if Naruto thought about it, scared him. How much chakra did the Kyuubi use to heal his arm?

**'It would be wise not to question me, Kit. Just know that it was enough,' **the great bijuu growled in his mind.

Naruto frowned to himself. '_We aren't friends just because he helped me. Let's not forget why I'm in a position to worry in the first place.'_

**'Let's not forget why you're alive, Uzumaki brat.'**

The door to his room cracked open and Naruto jumped, quickly sliding is arm back into the sling before someone could come in and see that it was healed. A head of pink hair appeared around the crack, smiled when she saw that he was awake, and came fully into the room holding a vase of flowers.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun. How's your shoulder?" Sakura asked, bringing in the flowers an setting them on the table in the room.

Naruto smiled, rubbing his head with his "good" arm. He didn't like trying to decieve his Sakura-chan, but he knew she was one of his biggest enemies on this matter. She'd never been too keen on the idea of him going on a suicide mission. "It's alright. Who are the flowers from?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "Me. I figured you'd want something to brighten up the room. Although, Tsunade says you may be discharged today. It's only a shoulder and she's confident I can keep you in line at home. That's good news, right?" Her smiled grew wider as she came and crawled onto the bed beside him , hand falling on top of his chest.

Naruto forced himself to smile, nodding silently. Inside, he was panicking. If he was discharged today, his time was limited for his escape. Plus, it was now broad daylight. He couldn't escape the village in broad daylight!

He cleared his throat. "W-what about my burns? On my hand?" he asked, trying to stop the fear of failure from rising in his voice. "Tsunade doesn't want me to stay for those?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Your girlfriend is a medic, Naruto-kun. I handle worse burns than those on a daily basis. Don't worry, you're in good hands. You trust me, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah. Apparently more than you trust me," Naruto muttered, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Sakura sat up, staring down at him with narrowed eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, Naruto?" she asked, sounding exasperated with him already. The two topics that strained their relationship the most were "trust" and "Killing Sasuke" and often enough when they argued about one subject, the other subject came up at some point.

Naruto met her gaze. "It's no secret that you didn't want me to go. Why should I trust your skills when you obviously don't trust mine?" he asked.

Sakura wanted to groan, but she kept herself from doing so. She'd been hoping that with Tsunade's order for Naruto to settle down, Naruto and her arguments about him going would just stop and their relationship could stop feeling like a constant battle. Apparently not. "I'm not going to _die_ because I heal people," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. "Naruto, do we have to do this now? I'm literally exhausted."

"Did you sleep last night or were you working?" he asked, tone accusatory. Yet another argument that often came up: Sakura's work schedule.

Sakura sighed. "I only worked at Tsunade's for about six hours. Didn't even step foot in an emergency room last night. I swear," she promised, holding up a hand and placing the other on her heart.

Naruto sighed and sat up himself, touching Sakura's belly with the hand that wasn't in the sling and feeling for his son. He frowned. "Maybe you should go on maternity leave a little early. He used to kick every time I touched your stomach but he's been getting inactive in there. Shouldn't it be the exact opposite?"

Sakura bit her lip, placing her hands where Naruto's was. "_She's_ probably just sleeping more."

"Because _his_ overactive mom won't rest."

"Oh, you're definitely someone to chastise about not resting. Look who's the one in the hospital," Sakura muttered, swiping his hand away. She sighed and crossed her legs under her, really not in the mood to argue with him. She was beyond stressed right now, and most of her worries had to do with him in the first place. What with his illness, his desire to go on a suicide mission, Tsunade's demands of her even though she was pregnant, and the baby itself, Sakura barely had the time to worry about herself and her stress levels. Her plate was beyond full right now. She couldn't rest.

Naruto watched as Sakura's face suddenly grew so much more tired looking. He patted the bed beside him. "Well, rest now. You have a minute," he told her.

Sakura sighed but didn't argue. She laid down beside him and snuggled up to him, closing her eyes. "Just a minute," she mumbled, exhaustion settling in.

Naruto held her against him and watched her as her breathing slowed. "Did you really think that I couldn't do it, Sakura-chan? Did you think Orochimaru would kill me befor I could save Sasuke?" he asked.

Sakura shrugged slowly. "I didn't know what would happen. I just know that the last two times that you've tried to save him, you've ended up hurt. And I'm afraid that you can't be hurt any more at this point. Once you've been hurt so much, you just die. And I want you to live, at least a little while longer."

"This isn't fair to me. I'm not a little kid, but you and Tsunade and everyone else are treating me like I'm one. Even you're allowed to go on missions, even though you're pregnant. I let you do that, knowing that being a medic-nin was just what you did and trying to stop you would only piss you off."

Sakura squinted her green eyes open, looking into the eyes of her love. "I'm not treating you like a kid, Naruto. I love you and I don't want to lose you because of something that you don't need to do." Why couldn't he just see that she loved him enough to stop him from doing this?

Naruto sighed. "But I _do_ need to do this. It's my last shot at redemption, Sakura-chan. I haven't done a thing with my life. I failed the graduation exam three times, I was the worst member on our team, I was useless in the fight with Haku, I failed the chuunin exams, and I _died_. I haven't done anything great. No one will look up to me when I'm gone."

Sakura sat up again, forgetting about her rest so that she could comfort the distressed blonde. "Yes, all of that is true. But you learned a kinjutsu and mastered it as a twelve-year-old genin, before you even passed the graduation exams. You befriend everyone you've come in contact with and changed the hearts of just about all of them. You _did_ save Sasuke in the fight with Haku, and managed to even make Zabuza's cold heart warm again. You defeated the Hyuuga prodigy in the chuunin exams and saved my life when Gaara attacked me. You brought the fifth hokage here! And you learned the rasengan in a to mention that even when you died, Sasuke still came back. Naruto, you've done so many great things. Even when it seems like you failed, you had a dozen triumphs to make up for it. And when you're gone, I'll guarantee our baby will look up to you if no one else does."

Naruto smiled softly. "But I didn't become hokage. I didn't do what I promised everyone I'd do."

"That doesn't make you a failure. Besides, I believe you'll do it, Naruto-kun. Before you die, you'll find a way to earn the admiration and title of hokage."

"How?"

Sakura hesitated, then laid back down in bed again with a gentle smile. "We'll find a way. I'm sure of it. Let's start with getting Sasuke back, huh?"

Naruto started. "Sakura-chan... are you saying-?"

"If you can do all that without killing yourself, Naruto, then I believe you can do anything. You've escaped death before. But to make sure you don't do anything reckless either, I'll go with you."

"You can't! You're pregnant!"

"And you're sick. But I'm sure we'll be fine together if we take care of one another. Besides, I'd be worried sick if you went out without me, and that can't be good for the baby," she said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Naruto grinned wide, throwing his arms around his girlfriend without thinking that one of those arms was supposed to be hurt. "Ah, thank you Sakura-chan!" he cried, squeezing her.

Sakura coughed as Naruto squeezed the air out of her and used her superhuman strength to pry him off. "No problem, Naruto-kun. Now let's get you out of here before someone discharges you, huh?"

* * *

Naruto landed on a tree just outside the village, breathing heavily. He knew that his clock was ticking. Any moment and they would realize that he was gone from the hospital and go on a search for him. It was only a matter of time after that they would realize that he wasn't in the village at all. And then Sakura would be found out... or maybe they'd catch her before she could make it to the rendezvous point and she wouldn't be able to meet him. Naruto swallowed hard at the thought. Now that he'd wrapped his mind around the idea that he wouldn't be traveling alone, it made him nervous to imagine that Sakura wouldn't be there with him.

His nerves evaporated when he felt two hands snake around his waist and a face press to his neck. "Looking for someone?" a voice whispered, lips smirking against his skin. He smiled and turned to face his Sakura-chan. She was dressed in her usual gear, black gloves already equipped over her fists and a kunai pouch at the ready on her hip. But the smile on her face helped to soften her rough outward appearance. "Ready to go?" she asked.

Naruto smiled and grabbed her hand. "As ready as I can be. Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked. "There's a good chance that I'll..."

Sakura nodded understandingly. "I know. But I'd rather be there and have a chance of saving you than being at home and wondering if I'll ever see you again. So don't bother asking again if I want to go or not. Because I'm set in stone with my decision."

"Good," a voice said from the branches ahead. The couple started and quickly jumped away, baring their kunai and preparing for battle. But instead of an enemy they were met with the masked and very amused face of their former sensei as he walked vertically down the trunk of the tree they'd been on.

"Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto gasped, lowering his kunai. "What are you doing here? I thought that after Tsunade said what she did that you'd give up!"

Kakashi hopped onto a branch to stand right-side-up and shook his head. "I couldn't do that just because of a tiny risk of punishment. Not after you agreed to do this when there's a risk that you'd lose your life. What kind of a sensei would I be if I did that?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Naruto could feel his eyes watering. This was perfect. It was there team again, going on a final mission together before... well, before it was broken forever. But he didn't bother fretting over what lied ahead for them. He only cared about the here and now, the moments before the final reunion of team seven.

"Well what are we waiting here for?" Naruto asked, turning back to the path that lied ahead. "Let's go save Sasuke, 'ttebayo!"

* * *

**A/N I know it's kinda shorter than you're used to but I wanted this to be a feel-good chapter where everyone resolves to save Sasuke. I'm not sure if I succeeded or not so... let me know what you think.**

**And yeah, Sakura changed her mind pretty quickly. But I always intended for her to go on the mission so... Yeah, it needed to happen. :) **

**Oh, and in the last chapter did everyone realize that the "favorite pieces" that Light and Dark were talking about were Naruto and Sasuke? I dunno if I made that clear. **

**Any comments, questions, or concerns? Please review!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Thanks to:**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
25BAM50  
Eto117  
Duesal10  
Deadman19  
Exxcaliburr  
saiyan prince1  
Cross30Faras  
Unknow99  
Silent Bunshin  
**

**For updating last chapter. :)**

* * *

_Recap:_

_Despite being prohibited, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi have set out for the final time as Team Seven for one last mission together: Kill Sasuke and set him free. _

* * *

**Chapter 40**

Naruto stopped walking once he realized that Sakura had fallen behind him and Kakashi. He grabbed Kakashi to stop him too, and pointed behind him at the kunoichi who was now grasping her belly gently with her head down. Worried, Naruto walked behind, laying a hand on her shoulder and ducking his head to get a look at her face. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?" he asked softly.

There was a gentle smile on her face. She lifted her head, her hand never leaving her belly. "Shh. The baby's kicking," she whispered as if the baby would realize that it was being talked about and stop its movement. She carefully grabbed Naruto's hand with her free hand and placed it where the flutter of movement was happening. Slowly, Naruto's own face broke out in a smile.

"He's moving again," he whispered back happily.

Still in front of them, Kakashi couldn't tell what was happening between the two. He only knew that Sakura had stopped, Naruto had gone over, and now they were both talking to one another in hushed voices with the occasional glance down at the pregnant belly of Sakura. He frowned. "Is everything alright?" he called over to them.

Naruto turned, still smiling with a hand on Sakura's belly. "Yeah, everything's great!" He called back.

Kakashi crossed his arms, raising his visible eyebrow. "Well, if nothing's wrong, can we get a move on? We aren't exactly that far from Konoha yet, and we technically just ran away from the village. So if its alright with the both of you and your fetus, I'd like to continue on our mission."

Both young adults turned equal shades of red and Naruto quickly dropped his hand from Sakura's belly. "H-hai."

* * *

It was barely noon and Tsunade felt like she was about to explode in anger.

"What do you _mean_ he's not in his room?" She growled threateningly at her poor assisstant as Shizune stood practically shaking in front of her desk.

"H-he's gone. I went into his room to get him ready for discharge like you wanted and he was gone," she answered, clutching Tonton to her chest protectively. She hoped that the adorable appearance of the pet pig would lower Tsunade's anger a little bit.

"How the hell did he manage to leave a hospital with trained nurses and shinobi on practically every corner?" The hokage growled, eyes blazing. "How do you think we're going to explain to a pregnant Sakura that the father of her child is probably on his way right now to complete a suicide mission? Do _you_ want to be the one to deliver that news to her? Do you even understand what that is going to do to her emotionally?" she barked as if it was Shizune's fault that Naruto got away.

Shizune swallowed hard against the growing lump in her throat. "We-well actually H-Hokage-sama, that's another thing. You see, er, I went to their apartment to check if maybe she discharged him on her own and well... she's gone, too."

A vein suddenly popped out on Tsunade's temple and her eye twitched. "What?"

* * *

Kiba waited patiently at his team's meeting area, apparently the only member of his team that could actually show up on time to something. "Jeez, Akamaru. You'd think that when everyone agreed to meet a little bit later in the afternoon, they'd actually be on time. Or at least _Shino_ would be on time. That guy's never late," he muttered, rubbing his canine companion while the large nin-dog lay resting over his feet.

Suddenly, Akamaru picked up his head and looked down the path, ears up and alert. "Arff," he barked.

Kiba followed Akamaru's gaze, scratching between his ears. "Do you see somebody coming, buddy?" he asked. As far as he could see, there was no one there. The path to the meeting place was just as empty as it had been since he got there. "Do you _smell _somebody?" he asked, trusting that his dog actually sensed something and wasn't just seeing- or hearing- things.

Akamaru got off his legs, walking down the path a bit more. He stopped, sniffed the air, then looked back as if telling Kiba to follow him. Kiba shrugged and obliged, deciding that maybe Akamaru was hungry and smelled something in the air. If there was a person around, he would have sensed them by now. But, even so, he didn't smell any food either.

He followed the dog with his hands in his pockets, watching as Akamaru continued the same pattern of walking, sniffing the air, then checking behind him to make sure he was following. It was a little strange for Akamaru, actually. Normally if he smelled something, the dog would speed off and trust Kiba to follow him or the scent once Kiba caught it. But the way Akamaru was carrying on, it was like he didn't trust Kiba to keep following, like he knew there wouldn't be a scent to follow.

Warily now, Kiba continued to follow. "What's going on, Akamaru?" he asked.

The dog came back a few feet to him, walking behind him and pushing at Kiba's back with his nuzzle. Kiba was beginning to understand that Akamaru wanted to lead him somewhere, so he decided to just go with it for now. At least, he would go with it until things started to look even more weird.

The duo walked a few more yards down the path until Kiba could make out a person lying against a tree a ways ahead. A little further and he could tell that the figure was a girl. Even further and he could see that the girl was none other than the girl who held his heart in her hands: Hinata.

He stopped a few feet away from her, expecting her to sense him and move and acknowledge him or something. But she didn't. She stayed motionless, eyes closed as she lay slumped against the trunk of the tree she was leaning against. He frowned, seeing she was unconscious and wondering if she was okay. Concerned, he walked over and kneeled beside her, pressing his ear against her chest to be sure she was breathing. "Hinata-chan? Are you alright?" he whispered, leaning away once he was satisfied and shaking her shoulder.

Slowly, the young Hyuuga's eyes fluttered open as she was dazed from her slumber. "Mm, Kiba-kun?" she mumbled sleepily. "What are y-you-you doing here?" she stammered. She rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter, yawning adorably as she tried to get her barings.

Kiba smiled softly at the sound of her voice. He missed it. Despite the fact that Hinata had spoken to him, it looked like he would be the only one to know that she'd given up her silence. She still didn't speak in front of others, even their other teammates, and she resorted to her gestures when communicating with everyone that wasn't him. Which was truly sad, because they were both currently avoiding one another ever since Hinata's confession of her love for him and Kiba's stubborn response that he wouldn't share her. Things seemed even worse now that they'd admitted to the feelings that they had for one another, because even though they loved each other they still couldn't be together. It was the worst love story ever written. "I could ask you the same question. What are you doing sleeping against a tree when you probably have a much comfier bed just waiting for you at home?" he asked, frowning.

Hinata smiled sheepishly. "I don't- I don't really l-l-li-like staying at home much an-anymore. B-be-believe it or not, it's much- it's much comfier out here," she replied. Akamaru came over and laid his head on Hinata's knees, confirming to Kiba that she was what he'd been looking for. Hinata smiled and gently scratched behind Akamaru's ears.

Kiba frowned at how difficult it had been for Hinata to force her words out. "Your stutter is worse," he said bluntly. "I've never heard it this bad before."

Hinata's face flushed red. "We haven't exactly ta-talked m-much over the l-la-last two years. How do you kn-know it's really worse?" she replied, frowning. She kept her head down, deciding to focus more on Akamaru's tail wagging happily than on the boy who insulted her stutter. "Is it- is it really that b-ba-bad?"

Kiba hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. I can barely understand you," he murmured, reaching out and taking her hand in his much bigger one. "And I know it's worse because before you stopped talking, it was getting almost better. You only stuttered over some words here and there, when you were nervous. Now..." he let his words trail off.

Hinata's eyes traveled to where their hands were pressed together. "Do you t-thi-think it was- it was better when I was-wasn't talking a-at all?" she asked softly.

Kiba followed her eyes and squeezed her hand tighter. "No, never. I'd rather not understand a word you ever say than never hear your voice," he said sincerely.

Hinata pulled her hand out of his. "G-g-gee th-thanks," she muttered sarcastically, which was a feat for her since she was hardly ever sarcastic.

Kiba put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, maybe that came out wrong. But what I mean is, not hearing your voice would be the worst thing ever to me. I'd take a bad stutter over silence any day."

"Why?"

"Because I love you, and when you love someone, not hearing from them is painful, even if you see them everyday," he muttered, reaching and grabbing her hand again. She didn't pull away.

"I love y-you, too," Hinata whispered.

"But you also love him," Kiba added. Slowly, Hinata's head nodded. "I'm not enough for you."

"I ne-ne-nev- I ne- I never said that!" Hinata objected adamantly. "I'm n-not the o-o-one saying 'I do-I don't want to be with y-y-you becau-bec-because I'm not the only o-o-one y-y-you care about'!"

"What's wrong with wanting to be your only love?"

"It's se-se-selfish! I l-lo-love you and I want to be with-with you but it's not enough. You want m-me to just- to just forget all about a guy I've b-b-been in love with s-si-since I was twelve! It doesn't just go-go away because I love you now, t-t-too."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "You wanna be with me?"

"O-of course I do. I to-old you that from the v-the ve- I told you that from the very begi -"

Kiba's hand came to the back of Hinata's head, tilting it upward as his lips came down to meet hers. Shocked and still angry, she resisted the kiss at first, but slowly her resistance faded with each passing second. Her hands slid to his shoulders, pulling him closer as his hands slid around her waist and the kiss deepened. She sighed, letting her eyelids flutter closed and her arms go around his neck.

After some time, Kiba pulled away so that they could catch their breaths. A goofy smile slid over his lips. "I can't believe you wanna be with me. You _must_ love me more than Naruto, then!"

Hinata rolled her eyes and dropped her head to keep her growing blush from showing. "Sh-shut up, Kiba-kun." He was such an idiot sometimes.

Above the duo, in the trees, stood Shino with a bug on the back of his hand, shaking his head. "Finally. Good job, Akamaru," he whispered.

* * *

That night, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura sat around the fire, about halfway between the halfway point between Konoha and the sound village. They made good time considering all the stops they had to make between Naruto and Sakura. They managed to get so far before daybreak.

"We won't be able to have a fire while we sleep. No doubt Tsunade has someone tracking us by now. A fire would be too easy for someone to follow at night," Kakashi informed them as he turned the spicket where their meal was cooking over the fire. Naruto and Sakura were in such a hurry when making their departure that they hadn't bothered bringing food rations or anything else of the like. They only had their weapons pouches, a few hastily-grabbed scrolls, a meager amount of Sakura's supplies, and the clothes on their backs. Kakashi was a bit more prepared, but he hardly had enough food for all of them to eat two meals, so they were saving that food to ration if they got into serious trouble. "I'll put it out as soon as dinner's finished."

"But won't it be cold out?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Then we'll have to huddle together to stay warm, though I doubt it will get that bad out here. It's been nice so far. But if it comes to that, I don't think the two of you will have very many problems with cuddling. You've been pretty cozy this whole trip," he teased.

Both eighteen year olds tensed and blushed, since they both knew how they'd been acting on the journey. To keep Kakashi from teasing them further, Naruto decided to change the subject. "What's the plan, Kakashi-sensei?"

The indent of the smile behind Kakashi's mask disappeared and was replaced by a more serios expression. "We can't just waltz into the Sound and challenge Orochimaru to a fight to the death. He's probably expecting an attack since he's just transferred into an Uchiha body. Anyone could want to fight him now, not just us."

"Well, what do we do," Sakura asked.

"We'll have to find ur way into Orochimaru's midst somehow. Maybe we could send Naruto in first as bait. Orochimaru's thirst for knowledge won't be able to resist a boy brought back from the dead," Kakashi answered.

Sakura didn't seem to like that idea very much. "No. We are _not_ using anyone as bait!"

"Is it the term that offends you?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll use Naruto to _lure him out_. Better?" Sakura gave a short nod and Kakashi took that as a sign to continue. "Once Orochimaru appears, we attack."

"Just you and me, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto piped up.

Kakashi hesitated. He looked towards Sakura, raising an eyebrow. "I assumed that because she was here..."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, _no. _Sakura is _not_ fighting Orochimaru in Sasuke's body," the blonde haired jinchuuriki protested. "It's too dangerous. And she's pregnant. No, she can... she can hide somewhere."

A muscle twitched in Kakashi's jaw, barely visible behind his mask. "Okay, this is getting out of hand," he said, leaning back in his seat so that he could address both of his teammates at the same time. "We are on a _mission_. I understand that the two of you are worried and concerned for one another, hell, I'm concerned for the two of you too, but you have to keep in mind that this isn't a walk through Konoha. You both volunteered to do this without any coercion on my part, knowing that your lives would eventually be in danger. If we planned around every situation because Sakura's pregnant or Naruto's sick, we would never even run into Orochimaru. You are shinobi of Konoha right now, not a couple, not soon-to-be parents, but _Shinobi_. From this point on, we are going to act like it. That means no more stopping because Sakura's out of breath, no more stopping because Naruto's coughing, and no more stopping because of some other reason _unless_ it's an emergency." he spoke, crossing his arms. "If not, we can turn around and go back to Konoha right now. Obviously, we aren't ready for this. Am I clear?"

Sakura and Naruto both bowed their heads to hide their faces. "Yes," they agreed in unison.

"Good. Then we can continue our planning. If all goes well, we should reach our destination within a week."

* * *

**A/N Kinda short again. Eh. **

**Sorry I haven't updated in about two weeks. I've been out of it a little. And then my computer crashed. But all's good now. If you couldn't tell, the story's almost finished! Next chapter will be when they get to the Sound, a week later.**

**And noooow, Review Responses!**

**Unknow99: The KibaHina in this chapter was your response :)**

**Cross30Faras: You're actually on the right track towards how the story ends with Kurai. So, Kudos to you! As for the other Konoha teams, I was trying to incorporate them into the story but as you can see with how difficult the KibaHina turned out, I'm really bad at focusing on subplots haha.**

**Roku H (Even though this wasn't last chapter): I wasn't really trying to make my readers hate Sasuke. Actually, it was the exact opposite. I wanted my readers to actually not mark him off as a bad guy just because he went to Orochimaru again. Sasuke's good, he's just going about being 'good' the wrong way. Not emo. **

**Exxcaliburr: I started off making her more worried and defensive when she first heard about it by just making her flat-out against the idea of Naruto going at all. But that couldn't last since, as you can see, I wanted her on the trip. And that's why you're getting a more reluctant, yet lenient, Sakura over the whole ordeal.**

**I think those were all the reviews with questions in them... So, I'm done for now! Any ideas that may help the story? I'll take em! Suggestions always make me happy.**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns? REVIEW!**


	41. Chapter 41

**Thanks to:**

**The Keeper of Worlds  
Bre Renee  
DueSal10**

**For updating last chapter. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 41**

**_One week Later_**

Naruto sat beside the still-smoking fire as his teammates both slept a distance away under the stars. They were far enough away from the village at this point that they didn't need to keep watch in the dark, but Kakashi still didn't want the fire to burn too long so they kept it lit in intervals. Now, as Naruto watched the flickering flames dance across the porcelain cheek of the girl he loved, he was glad for the light.

He sighed to himself and used a stick to moved the wood in the flames, his eye never leaving Sakura's sleeping face. She was smiling peacefully in her dreams and her left hand laid lazily across the bulging belly of the child she carried. To anyone else, the sight would have been a happy one. But to Naruto, it only brought wistful thoughts about a child he would never see and a girl he would never grow old with. He wouldn't experience a wedding day or the excitement of their first-born's first words or the baby's first steps. He'd miss all of that. But above all else, he'd miss Sakura-chan.

He set the stick down and walked over to where Sakura lied on the dirt, her only cushion being the jacket tha Naruto bunched up underneath her. He curled his body up against hers and laid his hand on top of the one she held over her pregnant belly. He kissed her cheek, resting his chin on her shoulder, only to have the movement wake her up.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Naruto-kun?" she whispered in the night air in the adorable way she did when she was exhausted.

Naruto smiled softly at her. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to wake you," he replied just as softly, kissing the corner of her mouth. "Go back to sleep."

"Don't worry about it. As long as the wake up is as sweet as that, I don't mind at all. Are you tired?" she asked, seeing the way he was curled comfortably around her. "Do you want me to take over the watch?"

Naruto sat up, shaking his head. "No, I'm alright. You need your rest. We traveled a long distance today. Sleep as much as you can," he told her, only concerned for her safety and the safety of their baby. He moved a stray pink lock of hair off of her cheek.

She grasped his hand, pressing her cheek against his palm. "You're coddling me again, Naruto-kun. Kakashi is going to yell at you again," she warned him with a gentle smile. Despite the fact that they'd both agreed not to allow their emotions and feelings to get in the way on the mission, Naruto couldn't help but to disobey Kakashi's orders. He carried Sakura's bag, carried her when it looked like she was lagging behind, and gave her most of his food portions when they stopped to eat. Of course, the silver-haired jounin chastised him for the behavior on every given opportunity, but the blonde young man was adamant about taking care of the future mother of his child.

Naruto shrugged. "Won't be anything I haven't heard already," he dismissed, leaning down and kissing her nose. "Go back to bed," he repeated.

Sakura ignored him. "Have you just been thinking the whole time you were keeping watch?" she asked, yawning on the end.

"Yeah. Close your eyes, Sakura-chan."

This time Sakura obliged, but scooted over a little so that she could lay her head on his lap. She smiled softly. "What about?"

"You."

"Be serious for once, Baka. What were you thinking about? Come on, tell me," she urged him, opening her eyes yet again to stare at him with her seafoam-green gems.

Naruto sighed in exasperation, but conceded. "I was thinking about sending you home," he admitted, running a hand through her hair.

Sakura grabbed his hand, stopping the movement. She sat up, wrinkling her adorable eyebrows at him in confusion. "What, why? We're almost there, Naruto. It's a little too late for that."

"I know we're almost there. But, see, that's exactly why I want you to go home. We're almost _there_, Sakura-chan. We'll be in the Sound by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, and then all we have to do is find out where Orochimaru is hiding with his new body. And then there's going to be the biggest fight either one of us has ever been involved in. This is a Sannin in a Uchiha's body that we're talking about."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I already _know _all of this, Naruto. We both knew what we were getting into before - "

"No, we didn't. I thought I did, but now that we're so close and everything's just waiting around the corner, I can't let you go into the Sound. I can't. It would be irresponsible of me."

"I promised you that I wouldn't fight Orochimaru if you didn't want me to. We discussed this," Sakura pressed, touching his cheek. She figured that all he needed was a good comforting before he went back to being easygoing about the whole ordeal.

But it wasn't working. "What if it can't be helped?" Naruto replied. "What if Orochimaru kills me or my body goes out before I can kill Orochimaru? If you're in the vicinity, he'll go after you and Kakashi once I'm down."

"Then why aren't you thinking of sending Kakashi home?"

"Because Kakashi can take care of himself and he's not having my baby in less than four months," Naruto said, his tone suddenly harsher. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What's the matter with you, Sakura-chan? Why aren't you acting like our child means anything to you?"

"Of course it means something to me! It's my baby," she hissed at him, recoiling the hand from his cheek as if the feel of his skin scorched her.

"You never act like it. You don't acknowledge your pregnancy at all. You don't rest, you don't eat what's good for you, you work the same crazy shifts even though Ino told you it could be bad for the baby. And now you're going on a suicide mission with me even though you could kill yourself and our baby. What's the matter with you?" he repeated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm here because I love you, Naruto," Sakura said simply, glaring at him with her green gems. Why couldn't he appreciate that she was willing to risk everything to be with him right now, on his last mission?

"Don't you love our baby?"

Sakura flinched. "Of course I do."

Naruto frowned. "You don't seem too sure."

Sakura lifted her chin. "I do. I love it," she said, voice more sure.

But Naruto still wasn't convinced. Things were starting to add up. "...You don't, do you? That's why you're not worried about the baby or willing to go back. It's why you were so unhappy when you first learned you were pregnant. You don't love it," he said softly, head cocked to the side.

Sakura saw the realization dawning in Naruto's eyes and grasped his arm in desperation. "Of course I love it, Naruto! It's our baby, it's a piece of both of us. But it's ju-just been hard to-" Tears began to shimmer in her eyes before the burst through the dams and fell in rivulets down her pale cheeks. It was funny how the passionate flames from earlier were now replaced by the extinguishing rivers. "I just can't focus on so many things at once. W-With you dying and Sasuke dying and everything falling apart around me, I haven't even been able to _t-think _that I was actually growing something inside of me. It's not r-real yet," she whimpered. "I just can't _focus_. All I know is that I love you and I need to concentrate on being with you more than anything else. But don't you dare say that I don't care about our baby just because I love you just as much."

Naruto's face softened, but his eyes were still intensely staring at her. He wrapped his arms tight around her and gently stroked the top of her head. "At some point, Sakura, you have to love him more. At some point, sometime _very soon,_ you won't have me to care about. So you need to get used to loving him more."

An involuntary gentle smile appeared on Sakura's lips, and she couldn't help but choke out a laugh. "She."

Naruto was confused. "What?"

"You said 'he'. It's a she. I know it," Sakura said quietly, pulling away from him and wiping at the tears that were already starting to dry on her face. "I do love her too, Naruto," she insisted.

"Prove it. Go back before it's too late," he pressed desperately. "I just want the two of you to be safe, before anything can happen."

She lifted her head to stare into the intensely blue orifices of his eyes. "I just want to be able to say goodbye," she said almost on a whisper, voice trembling as her eyes threatened to fill with tears again. She cursed herself, not wanting Naruto's last image of her to be tear-stained and ugly if he _did_ send her back now.

"Then say goodbye now."

She closed her eyes and let her head fall, the tears slipping through her closed lids without her permission. She rubbed furiously at the insubordinate teardrops, not knowing that she was suddenly sobbing. "This isn't _fair_," she cried, "This is not how our story was supposed to end. We were supposed to realize we loved each other and have children and _be_ together without all of this... shit!" She felt herself pulled into Naruto lap and continued crying as he pressed her face against his shoulder. He held her as she cried, rubbing soothing circles over her back. "I-I'm going to miss you so much, Naruto," she hiccuped.

Naruto nodded, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "Say goodbye, Sakura-chan," he repeated.

Sakura seemingly didn't hear him, or she ignored him in order to stall their final farewells. "I promise I'll tell your child everything about you. How great you were and how kind and sweet and forgiving. They'll want to be just like you."

"Sakura-chan... say goodbye."

"And if you can't be hokage, I'll become hokage for you. I'll live out your dream, Naruto-kun, I promise. We'll do it together."

"That will be nice, Sakura-chan. Now - "

"How very sad," a familiar voice called from above their heads. The couple jerked at the sound of it, Sakura falling out of Naruto's lap as both of their heads turned upwards in order to spot the sound. Sakura's eyes narrowed as they scanned until she finally caught sight of the new intruder to the upper left of them. They widened as the figure formed into the shape she knew all too well, with a face that she used to cry about at night.

"S-Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

* * *

**[A day or two earlier]**

Tsunade couldn't even sit, which wasn't doing well for her image as the Hokage as she impatiently paced her small office with her arms crossed tightly across her chest.

Jiraiya watched her for a few moments before he couldn't take anymore. "You're making me nervous, Tsunade. Pacing and stomping around your office isn't going to suddenly fix everything and bring them back," he said dryly.

Tsunade ignored the subtle command to stop her movement. She continued pacing, now muttering to herself. "How could they go against my orders? I can understand Naruto because he never listens to me anyway, but he wouldn't have been a problem if Kakashi hadn't helped him."

"You're giving Kakashi too much credit, I think. I don't think he's the one who helped Naruto out of the hospital. Anbu even admitted that they let him leave untrailed, but he didn't leave his house until far after Shizune said that Naruto must have left. I think it was Sakura who helped Naruto."

She ignored the accusation that Jiraiya gave about her apprentice. She continued to rant. "And them! How could they just allow him to leave his home untrailed when I gave strict instructions to have him followed. I _knew_ this was going to happen."

"Kakashi was once one of them, Tsunade. He could probably convince them to help him more than you could convince them to work against him."

"Their loyalty is to _me."_

Jiraiya shrugged, knowing Tsunade wasn't going to listen to any arguments that went against what she wanted to think. So he went for another angle. "Let's talk about Sakura, Tsunade."

Tsunade shook her head, continuing to pace the floor. She was already making tracks in the ground and if she kept it up, she would put a rut in the floor where she paced. Literally. "No, Sakura would never betray my trust that way."

"She's gone, too," he reminded her.

"I know that, but it must have been some trick from Naruto. She's absolutely taken with him, even if I don't know why - the idiot. He could have convinced her to go with him. He could convince her to jump off a mountain if he wanted her to."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"She loves him. How much prodding do you think it would take from Naruto before she would discharge him herself and waltz him right out of the hospital and village? I bet those two are partners in crime."

"Crime is right," Tsunade muttered. "When I get my hands on those three - "

The door to the Hokage's open slid open only slightly, large enough to allow Shizune's head to slide through. "Team eight is here, Tsunade-shishou," she informed the Hokage.

Tsunade stopped abruptly and looked at the door. She sighed and walked around her desk, plopping down in her seat as she tried to look calm, even though her leg was shaking impatiently beneath her desk. "Send them in."

Less than a minute later, Team eight was standing erect in front of her, awaiting the details of the mission she had for them. She sighed inwardly and searched each of their faces in case one of them knew anything about the treachery their friends were a part of. She knew firsthand how close the konoha eleven were. Her eyes especially landed suspiciously on Kiba. If anyone could understand even close to how much Naruto wanted to drag Sasuke back, it was him. If Naruto told Kiba anything, the young Inuzuka would safeguard that secret with his life.

She lifted her eyes off of the boy and addressed the entire group. "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Hatake Kakashi have left the village," she said bluntly, like ripping a band-aid off. There was a quiet gasp from the mouth of Hinata and Kiba's eyes slightly bulged, but those were the only response she received from the team. "They are on their way to assassinate Orochimaru and retrieve the body of Uchiha Sasuke, I'm assuming. Now, each of you is aware of Naruto's current state and should realize the sensitivity of time limit. If you don't hurry after them and overcome them before they can reach Orochimaru's position, Naruto will die." She paused, watching the furrowed brows and widened eyes of the shocked young adults. While she was sure that she had their attention, she reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a rolled-up map. "We confiscated this from Naruto's materials when he was first admitted into the hospital a few days ago. But I will warn you not to be lax because you assume they'll be slowed down due to a lack of direction. If anything, Kakashi has a copy and will probably be able to maneuver around the path much better than you all. So I advise you to be careful." She handed the map over to the waiting hand of Kurenai. "I want you to leave no later than sunset at the latest. They already have a lead on you and are traveling quickly to be able to lose you. Remember, a fellow comrade's life is in your hands. Dismissed."

* * *

Kiba frowned as he sat in his room trying to get his pack ready for the coming mission. But he kept getting distracted by minor - or rather, major - details in the mission briefing. Like, the fact that if they weren't quick, Naruto would die. He would be dead, for real this time. And then he would be out of the way and he'd never have to worry about Hinata -

Kiba's hands froze and he dropped his pack on his bed. Had he really been thinking about the pros of a fellow Konoha shinobi's death? No matter how convenient it would be if Naruto just wasn't an issue anymore...

He sighed. He had to get over this. It was getting out of hand; he was starting to wish _death_ on one of his friends. He never thought that his jealousy would take him so far...

He put his head in his hands and inhaled deeply.

No matter how convenient it would be...


	42. Chapter 42

**Thanks to:**

**25BAM50  
The Keeper of Worlds  
Zatheko  
Duesal10  
kidloco  
Deadman19  
ahmadaziz  
laurah2493**

narutoreader4368  


**For reviewing last chapter. :)**

**I'm sorry that it took so long to update, it wasn't my intention. My computer crashed before I got the opportunity to give this to you guys and as much as I tried, I couldn't find a way to update until I got it fixed. Actually, it's STILL not fixed, but I finally got access to an alternative computer. So, you're welcome that my love for you burns with the intensity of a thousand suns :) And without further ado, here's your chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 42**

Naruto gasped and instantly grabbed Sakura's arm, shoving her. "Sakura, go!" he shouted at her.

Sakura didn't bother nodding to confirm that she heard him. She turned on her heel and sprinted away from her love, knowing that she promised to get away. No matter how much she wanted to stay... But before she could take more than four steps towards the forest, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist like a cage, lifting her off the ground and stopping her in her tracks. She felt a cold blade against her throat and knew from instinct that it was a scalpel. She screamed.

"Naruto!"

She jerked herself right and left, the blade pressing against her throat and tearing through the skin like paper, causing crimson red plasma to drip in violent lines over her porcelain skin. "Oh, please hold still, Sakura-chan," Kabuto's voice murmured near her ear, voice mocking the adorable honorific Naruto still used for her, "We wouldn't want that pretty little throat slit."

A feral growl erupted from Sakura's right. She flicked her eyes over to see Naruto glaring flaming daggers into Kabuto's eyes. His own cerulean orbs were flickering between blue and red, specks of red tinting the blue even when the color flicked back to normal. He was shaking, fists clenched at his sides and jaw clenched so tightly that even fromher distance she could see a nerve twitching. "Get your damn filthy hands off of her!" he screamed, taking a step towards them.

Suddenly, a shadow darted towards Kabuto as the sounds of a thousand birds filled the air. Sakura felt Kabuto's fingers twitch on the knife before she was released and sent to the dirt of the forest floor. She used her arms to brace her fall and rolled over onto her back at the last minute to avoid crushing the baby inside of her. She was just in time to see Kabuto leap out of the reach of Kakashi's chidori seconds before the impact, only earning a torn shirt instead of a hole through his chest.

Kakashi didn't seem discouraged that his attack didn't work. It was only to distract Kabuto enough to make him drop Sakura. His face took on a new level of determination as his hands fell into a series of hand signs. "Naruto, forget about Kabuto. Stay focused and remember your mission. Your target is Orochimaru," Kakashi reminded Naruto. Sakura turned her eyes away from the battle between Kakashi and Kabuto. She knew that Kabuto was no match for Kakashi and the medic-nin would be dead soon. Instead, she turned her eyes to her love as Naruto's head snapped towards Orochimaru in Sasuke's body.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted angrily, unthinkingly launching himself upwards and into the trees where Sasuke's body still stood smirking.

The shell of the Uchiha raised it's hand as snakes shot forward out of his sleeve, lashing out at Naruto with exposed fangs dripping venom.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, noticing the venom in the mouths of the snakes and realizing with terrifying clarity that Naruto wouldn't be able to avoid the strikes in mid-air.

Naruto's hands flew up into a single seal, his face never losing it's harsh and determined quality as a shadow clone appeared beside him and quickly pulled him by the arm out of the way of danger. The snakes flew past him, only centimeters away from his neck when he moved, and Naruto allowed his clone's pull to launch him down to the ground. He landed as gracefullly as he could, staring angrily up at the man responsible for the downfall and murder of his friend.

"Sakura, get the hell out of here! Your promised me!" Naruto shouted though his intense gaze never left his opponent. He didn't wait to see if Sakura obeyed his command, only taking a step back as his hands flew through the signs for another jutsu and a flaming inferno shot out of his mouth and towards the snake sannin.

Orochimaru only jumped out of the way.

Sakura knew Naruto's head wasn't in it. He was acting rash and not thinking his moves through. Even from the little bit of fighting that she saw him do over the last few months, she knew that he outgrew his irrationality in battles. So what gave? "Naruto, you have to concentrate!"

"I'm not going to tell you again, Sakura, run!" Naruto shouted as he launched himself at Orochimaru again. He was able to engage him in a very intense and very brief hand-to-hand combat, but slacked and allowed Orochimaru's foot to connect with his jaw in a roundhouse kick that sent him sailing. His body flew through the air and smacked hard into the trunk of a strong oak that would have broken the spine of a lesser man. Thankfully, Naruto only pulled himself out of his own crater of splintered wood and bark and shook off the impact. "You can try to stall it as much as you want Orochimaru, but I'm going to kill you. Here and now," he swore.

Orochimaru wasn't phased. "Do you really think someone like you, the ghost of a boy, would be able to defeat me? I've killed Kages, boy. You were better off staying dead." The snake leaped from his perch so quickly that Sakura's eyes couldn't follow him, and suddenly he was staring into Naruto's eyes with a kunai poised at the blonde's throat. He flicked his wrist, only the flick of his wrist, and the kunai slid into Naruto's jugular vein like a hot knife through butter. Sakura froze, body paralyzed as she watched the squirts of blood explode from Naruto's neck like a miniature volcano. And then she screamed.

She saw Sasuke's dark eyes fall onto her as Orochimaru's bloodlust was transferred to his nearest and most vulnerable target, but Orochimaru wasn't in her thoughts when she darted forward to catch Naruto's lifeless body as he fell to his knees, eyes dull and empty. She ran to him, but barely made it halfway to her lover when a pair of arms trapped her again, stopping her where she stood. Irrationally thinking that it was Kabuto again, she kicked and thrashed and screamed to get away, throwing her head back and knocking her skull into the nose of her assailant, giving such a fight that she didn't even notice the 'poof!' as Naruto's body vanished into thin air.

"Sakura-chan, stop it!" Naruto's voice hissed in her ear, the only thing that could have made her calm down. "It was a clone, Sakura-chan. Just sturdier than most, see? I'm alright," Naruto assured her quietly. He let her go, turning her around to face him so that she could see his face. He didn't look happy at all. "Do you see why you couldn't stay? Sakura, you have to go. Please," he begged her. Sakura opened her mouth to protest just as Naruto pushed her out of the way and a shuriken embedded itself in his forehead. This one immediately poofed away, but she didn't have time to be surprised as another Naruto quickly grabbed her bridal style and darted away from the battle with her.

"It looks like I can't trust you to honor your promise, Sakura-chan. So I'll make you," Naruto's clone muttered as they disappeared beyond the clearing at inhumanly possible speeds.

The little bit of the battle that she actually saw was less than five minutes.

* * *

Kakashi and Kabuto stared across the expanse of the clearing left to them, apart from the main battle that ensued between Naruto and Orochimaru. Neither one was breathing heavily or spent at all, both simply acting with the objective to keep their opponent out of the other fight.

"When are you going to take me seriously. old man?" Kabuto asked.

"When you stop trying to use childish antics in order to get to me," Kakashi replied flippantly.

"Well then, I'll just have to find another way to get to you then," Kabuto replied, charging Kakashi with chakra scalpels at the ready. The older of the two battling shinobi quickly flicked out a Kunai in order to defend himself from Kabuto's attacks. The two silver-haired ninjas ducked and weaved around one another, dodging sharp and precise swipes that could end this battle fairly quickly. The incessant and boring swiping and dodging continued for what felt like forever, until Kabuto lost his patience with the fight. He growled, a low gutteral sound, and shot his left hand out to slit Kakashi's throat and end the duel. But the older shinobi simply jammed his own weapon into Kabuto's forearm, ramming until it came up into the other side, and leaped away before Kabuto's scalpel could cut a thread from his mask.

Kabuto dropped, grasping his arm and yanking the blade out. His opposite hand glowed green as it pressed to the bleeding wound to heal it. While he was occupied, Kakashi charged up his chidori and darted forward at a crouched position, ramming his electrified jutsu into the chest cavity of his opponent. Kabuto gasped and blood dribbled from his chin, the light from the chidori reflected in the medic-nin's glasses. Again, Kakashi leaped away and watched as Kabuto slumped to the ground, his gowing hand dimming until it was nothing and blood pooling around his paling body.

Kakashi turned to leave the scene and offer his assistance to his student, but saw something twitch and move out of the corner of his eye. He turned back around to see Kabuto now sitting up, cracking his neck and flexing his fingers in and out.

Kakashi frowned. "You're a tough one," he said simply.

Kabuto smiled. "Finally, you acknowedge me."

* * *

Sakura was allowed to walk when she and the clone got far enough away from the fight and once Sakura promised that she wouldn't try to disspell him and run back to help Naruto. So far, she'd kept her promise. She knew that it would be irrational for her to run back now. Naruto would instantly get the information that she was coming back once the clone disappeared, and would be distacted. She couldn't afford to have him distracted at all, having seen first hand what that meant for Naruto when his clone caught a shuriken with his head. So she would be complacent for now and enjoy the knowledge that because Naruto's clone was there, her original was still alive.

"Are you hungry?" Naruto's clone asked her suddenly. "I have food." He stopped and pulled the green pack off of his back, holding it in front of him so that Sakura could see. He reached inside, retrieving a prettily prepared box that Sakura assumed held food inside. "I'm supposed to ask you to eat every thirty minutes. And it's been a half hour."

"Naruto made me a snack?"

"Several snacks." The clone scratched the back of its head, a pinkish hue spreading across his whiskered cheeks. "Kinda cheesy if you ask me, but I guess if you're into that kind of thing..."

Sakura smiled gently and took the lunch from the clone's hands, going and gently sitting down underneath the shade of a mighty oak tree despite the fact that the sun was only just beginning to come up and it was no where near hot out yet. She patted the spot beside her, signaling for Naruto's clone to take a seat, and only opened the lunch and began eating when the clone sat down.

"Tasty. And it's not ramen," she kidded with a smile and cheeks puffed with food.

"I know how it makes you sick nowadays."

Sakura chuckled. "He chooses _now_ to be the time where he's considerate about that. Baka."

They sat in silence for a second longer, the clone watching her eat and Sakura taking pleasure in the fact that he was watching her eat. Naruto was okay, he was okay as long as this clone was okay. There was no need to worry as long as she had a Naruto in her presence.

There was a rustling above and both of the shinobi shot their heads up towards the sound. Naruto wasted no time and shot a fist into his weapons pouch, retrieving a kunai and stepping in front of Sakura with the intention of protecting her. "Who's there?" he shoued out.

Another rustle, and then five figures jumped from the trees onto the path where they were resting. Two women, two men, and a dog. Sakura's shoulders visibly relaxed when she instantly recognized the members of team eight.

Unfortunately, they didn't seem too happy to see her sitting there. "Sakura, Naruto, thank kami we found you before it was too late. What the hell were you two thinking?" Kurenai instantly chastised her, crossing her arms. "Where's Kakashi? We're under strict orders to bring the three of you back to Konoha as soon as possible, kicking and screaming if we have to."

Sakura bit her lip, quickly understanding that Kurenai didn't realize that Naruto was just a clone and the real Naruto was a few miles back. She opened her mouth to tell Kurenai that Kakashi and Naruto were fighting Orochimaru and Kabuto and they would probably need help, but was stopped when Naruto's clone slid a hand onto her shoulder. "Kakashi's dead. He was killed in the battle with Orochimaru. A snake swallowed his body," he said quietly, eyes downcast as if the lie was truly devastating and hard to get out. "Sakura and I escaped while we could."

There was a quiet gasp from none other than the Hyuuga heiress, but Kurenai's face didn't change at all. Her years as a kunoichi had given her more than enough experience with keeping her emotions hidden while on a mission. "You don't look like you were in a battle."

"It could hardly be called a battle," Naruto's clone barked out, still refusing to meet Kurenai's eyes.

"Kakashi's dead and you were fleeing from a battle when you decided to stop for a snack?" Shino broke in, sounding unconvinced.

Naruto's hand never left Sakura's shoulder. "I figured we were a safe distance away. She was hungry, and she's pregnant. We would need to rest for her anyway, so why not now?"

"Because Orochimaru could be chasing after you at this very moment. Though I've never known the old snake bastard to be much of a chaser of his prey once they've fleed. It wouldn't be fun for him," Kurenai said, muttering the last part mostly to herself. She sighed and rested her red eyes on the couple, looking both compassionate and disappointed. "At least we've found the two of you alright, no matter the conditions."

Naruto squeezed Sakura's shoulder a little tighter, and she took it to mean that Kurenai believed the story and she wasn't supposed to say anything different. Apparently, the clone was also under strict orders to not allow anyone to involve themselves in the battle taking place. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that now there was no chance at all of being with Naruto again before the end, and she was ashamed to say that a few tears fell onto her lap.

Naruto leaned down beside her and wiped the tears away. "Hey, don't worry, Sakura-chan. Kakashi is... okay now," he said, his words coded but she udnerstood the meaning. She stood up, wrapping herself around Naruto in a tight embrace.

"I love you," she whispered in his ears. At least when Naruto died and the clone disspelled, he would get her last words to him.

"I love you, too," Naruto said back.

An exasperated sigh blew from Kiba's lips. "If you two are done, I'd like to get home," he complained.

"Kiba!" admonished both Kurenai and Hinata at the same time.

"What?"

As the team bickered and complained, "Naruto" and Sakura packed up the remains of the meal, putting it back in the little lunchbox and putting the lunchbox in Naruto's pack.

"Everything will be okay," Naruto whispered in her ear. And as much as Sakura knew he wasn't telling the truth, she allowed herself to be reassured by his words.

* * *

Naruto roared with released adrenaline as he buried his kunai deep into the flesh of his friend's body, taking pleasure in the sight of the knife digging into the middle of the curse mark on his shoulder. With another shout ripping from his throat like the growl of a lion, Naruto tore down with the knife and ripped apart the muscles and tendons that attached his arm and shoulder to the rest of his body. Orochimaru shrieked and staggered back, bursts of blood spurting from the fresh wound and dribbles of it mixed with spittle dripping down the corner of his mouth and trailing down his jaw. Naruto smirked, watching the snake sannin suffer and enjoying it, even though it looked like it was his childhood friend that was dying and dismembered in front of him.

Something flashed out of the corner of his eye like metal against the moonlight and he barely had time to get out of the way before a sword sliced down the air where he once stood. If he hadn't moved, he'd have been split down the middle by now. He glanced over where the injured Orochimaru once stood just in time to see him melt into a puddle of mud.

Figured.

"You're a lot more limber than I would have ever given you credit for," Orochimaru taunted him.

"A lot of deaths have resulted from people underestimating me. Let's add yours to the list," Naruto muttered, pulling out another kunai and charging the sword-wielding snake sannin yet again. They met in the middle, Naruto's kunai knife playing the defense in the power struggle between him and Orochimaru.

"You're withering, Naruto-kun. Don't tell me you're already running out of steam. If that's all you've got, I wont be amused at all. Maybe I'll have to go after your pretty little Sakura-chan once I kill you. How far along is she now? She's rather large to be on missions, don't you think?"

Naruto snarled and ripped a second kunai from his pouch, slicing it through the air towards Orochimaru's ribs. The snake sannin's neck stretched and elongated, shooting for Naruto's throat at the same instant. Cursing, Naruto was forced to jump back and miss the opportunity for a clean strike. He faced Oro across the clearing, watching as the pale neck grotesquely retracted to sit normally on the bastard's shoulders. Inwardly, Naruto cursed himself for not cutting his head off when he had the chance. He was going to die anyway, why was he avoiding blows that could end this once and for all?

"This is the last time I tell you, Orochimaru. This is where you die."

"With the way you're fighting, you'll have to excuse me if I don't believe you," Orochimaru hissed with an amused smile. Again, he lurched forward at Naruto with his blade, doubling his speed. Naruto barely saw the shine of the moon's reflection before it connected with his stomach and sliced his flesh apart like a hot knife through butter. Hot pain seared out of him in dark, mahogany droplets, and he grasped at his abdomen as the fox already went to work on healing his injury. He glared up at Orochimaru through his eyelashes, ignoring the agony that the fox's chakra caused to tear through his body. Orochimaru ignored the look and lifted the blade for a second, fatal blow, but Naruto mustered up the energy to flash away before the sword could connect with his body.

_**'Fleeing, Naruto-kun?'** _A voice that didn't belong to him or the Kyuubi whispered in his mind, '**_How fitting for a cowardly weakling like you.'_**

Naruto tensed, recognizing the sinister edge to the voice. '_You're one to talk. Haven't you been hiding for weeks, coward?' _Naruto snapped back. Great, just what he needed. _Two_ evil opponents trying to murder him at the same time; one in reality and one in his mind. Dammit. Kurai couldn't have picked any other time to assault is psyche?

A dark chuckle resonated in his head. **_'I'm far from afraid of you, old friend. But you're afraid of me.'  
_**

Orochimaru lunged again and Naruto narrowly escaped yet another crushing blow. He leaped into the air and hid himself amongst the overhead foliage until he could get rid of his annoying alter ego. '_Now is not the time, Kurai! Get out of my head!" _He mentally screamed.

'**_Don't you mean... get out of MY head?'_ **

Another sinister chuckle vibrated around his head before black spots began to swim in his vision.

* * *

Kurai smiled, watching _his_ hands curl into fists and feeling _his_ fingernails dig so far into the palms the coppery red drops of blood dripped around the cracks in his fingers and pooled out the sides. _His _blood. _His _pain. _His _body.

His moment of triumph was unfortunately short-lived. It was interrupted by the appearance of a pale, sickly young man with a look of bloodlust dancing in his yellow, snake-like eyes. Kurai racked Naruto's memory for identification of the man as he easily side-stepped a downward swipe of the slow old man's blood with a bored look.

Oh yeah, Orochimaru. He had that Sasuke kid's body. Naruto was in a fight with him, wasn't he?

Kurai jumped from the trees to reenter the clearing, not at all surprised as the snake sannin appeared at his back. Kurai smirked and pivoted on his heel, grasping Orochimaru's sword in his hand before the old man could twitch a muscle to raise it. He wrapped his fingers around it, enjoying the hiss-worthy pain that sliced through his palm at the contact, letting him know that he was truly alive now. He ripped the blade from Orochimaru's grasp and tossed it across the clearing. He didn't check that it was gone, only took the solid _thump_ as it embedded in a tree's trunk as a worthy sign of its disappearance before he glanced down at the wound that was rapidly healing on his palm. The slit in his hand pulled together, turned into a slight pink scar, and disappeared before his very eyes. The only remnants were the muddy smears of red plasma that were any clue of the old damage.

He met Orochimaru's wide eyes with an excited look of his own. "I haven't bled in so long," he whispered. "It's fun. Let's keep playing, huh?"

* * *

Kakashi watched Kabuto's eyes flick towards the other battle taking place a little bit away. He could read the alarm flashing across the younger silver-haired ninja's face, but resisted the urge to glance over and see if Naruto was winning or not. That wasn't his focus. He had to eliminate Kabuto from the equation soon. And with the way the medic-nin was beginning to flop around like a dead fish, his opportunity to end this battle was coming soon.

"Hey Kabuto," Kakashi called coolly, "My eyes are up here."

Kabuto's eyes flickered back to Kakashi and narrowed into slits. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, chakra scalpals at the ready. "I hate to haveto run so soon, but I have to end this soon."

"My thoughts exactly," Kakashi replied. No more playing games.

* * *

Kurai dropped the snake sannin's tongue on the dirty ground and stomped on it. Silly pervert tried to shoot it at him and Kurai really had no other choice but to rip it out. It was justified.

At his feet, the sannin squirmed, blood gushing from his mouth like a never-ending fountain. Kurai chuckled. "You're not much fun anymore, are you? At least this isn't. I need a new toy. But first, I need to get rid of you," he said flippantly. As fast as lightning strikes, Kurai's hands flew through a series of hand seals. When he finished, chains made of chakra sat prettily in his self-inflicted-cut-and-bruised hands. "But first, too make sure you don't squirm away."

Orochimaru's eyes got wide and his mouth moved to form words, but he couldn't exactly talk without a tongue.

Kurai got the jist of what he was trying to say, though. "Oh, these? Yeah, you learn a few of dear old mom's tricks when you're rotting in your own mind for a decade or so." He chuckled and effortlessly wrapped the chakra chains around Orochimaru's body despite the sannin's squirming.  
And then he pulled and pulled and pulled until the chains dug into the sannin's pale arms with a sickening sizzle and the smell of burnt skin.

Kurai was cackling so harsh at the sannin's suffering that he didn't notice the sickly yellow eyes transform and darken to shades of pitch black, and the look on his face morphed from one of agony to one of confusion.

"N-Na-Naruto?" The sannin choked out in a voice that didn't belong to the sannin. It sounded like...

"Sasuke?" Kurai breathed. His face hardened and he ripped a kunai from his pouch. He was the first on his hitlist. He snarled and moved to drive the kunai into Sasuke's chest, but a gloved hand stopped him. Angered, Kurai turned his head up to glare at the intruder and met with the face of Kakashi Hatake.

"Kaka-" Kurai began to say, but a mind-splitting, blood-aching pain wrench through his body like a tornado.

'_What the hell?' _Kurai thought rapidly, trying to find the source of the pain. But he didn't have any tears or wounds or injuries to show for this ache.

The thunderous voice of the Kyuubi rang in his ears. **_'You're dying, Kurai. The amount of chakra and energy that you used in order to inhumanly play with your prey is now coming back to bite you. It's tearing your organs to shreds, and has been for quite a while. I'm a little surprised you've been able to remain standing all this time, honestly," _**the great fox taunted.

Kurai gripped his stomach, dropping to his knees. "No, this can't be happening. Not now! Not after I finally..."

Kakashi was by his side, holding him gently and pulling him against him. "Don't worry, Naruto. It will be alright. Just give it a moment, and it'll all be over."

Blood flew from his mouth as he was suddenly overcome by a fit of coughing. He fell on his back, shaking his head. Tears pricked his eyes. "No..."

* * *

Sakura paused as Naruto suddenly stopped walking on their path. She turned to him curiously, watching him stare with wide eyes at the ground.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

He gulped and raised his head to look her in the eye. She gasped, knowing what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. "S-Sakura-chan... it's happening," he choked out, body shaking. Before she knew what was happening, he dropped to the ground on his knees, gripping his stomach.

She ran to him, falling to her knees beside him and cradling his head against her chest. "No, no, no. No, please," she begged. "Hold on, _please_."

The rest of the group had stopped walking now, alerted by the couple behind them. "Sakura, Naruto, what's going on."

She ignored them, squeezing Naruto's clone against him and begging him not to poof away. But it was all fruitless and soon...

_Pop_!

He was gone.


	43. Chapter 43

**Thanks to:  
The Keeper of Worlds  
25BAM50  
Duesal10  
kidloco  
Deadman19  
EmilyLovesBooks  
ahmadaziz  
FrozenFlamingFire  
malaekat pati  
kai. kenjoumi (Sorry your name wasn't mentioned last chapter :[ )  
**

**For reviewing last chapter. :)**

**Since I made you guys wait so long for the last cliffy, I've decided to update early as a reward for your patience.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 43**

Kurenai started at the dispersion of the clone, the pop even surprising her. She narrowed her eyes at Sakura, instantly understanding that she'd been fooled. "Sakura, what's going on here?" She barked, her tone daring the pinkette to lie to her again.

Sakura shook her head as sobs began to rack her body, her fists pounding the earth where the clone used to be. Kurenai, angered and out of patience for the pregnant girl, stomped over and roughly shook her by the shoulders. "Sakura!" She snapped.

"Naruto's dead," she choked out. "His clone is gone. He's dead."

"Where is the real Naruto?" Shino asked.

Kurenai already had a feeling she knew what Sakura's answer was before the pink haired young woman said, "Where we left Kakashi. He forced me to leave them to fight Orochimaru and made his clone babysit me. I didn't want to lie, but the clone didn't want anyone to get in the way. But now it's gone and Naruto..."

"Sakura, you have to take us back to where you left Kakashi and Naruto. If what you say is true, it's too late to save Naruto but we can still try to save Kakashi," Kurenai told her, shaking the girl's shoulders again when it seemed like she might faint.

"Kurenai-sensei, stop," Kiba snarled, stepping forward and stopping the abuse to the pregnant kunoichi. He gently pulled Sakura away from Kurenai's arms and helped her off the ground. "We won't get anywhere if she passes out. It'll probably set us back and we won't be able to help anyone if they're in trouble." He led Sakura over to Akamaru and helped her up. "You sit on top of Akamaru and rest for a while. Just point us in the right direction and we'll track Kakashi the rest of the way," he said softly.

Sakura gave him a thankful smile and pointed with her finger. "It was west of our position when you first found us," she directed, leaning forward just enough on the giant dog and resting her head on the top of his, right below his neck. It wasn't long before she dozed off, though her dreams were anything but peaceful.

Hinata looked surprised at Kiba as the procession retraced their steps. "You handled that well," she complimented him.

Her recently-turned boyfriend blushed a subtle pink hue and scratched the back of his head. "I only knew she needed a break."

"How'd you know that?"

He shrugged, sneakily grasping her hand while the other two members of their team were otherwise occupied trying to figure out a plan. "I knew what I'd need if I ever lost you."

* * *

Kakashi held Naruto as his breathing slowed, the blonde head resting against his shoulder and eyelashes fluttering to close over his sinister-looking purple eyes - probably a side effect of the Kyuubi's chakra. Kakashi knew that Naruto didn't want to die alone, so he'd hold him until the last moments.

Sasuke was lying bloodied and beaten beside him, conscious albeit barely. He wasn't able to say very much, and hadn't said a word since his quiet mutter of Naruto's name, due to Naruto brutally removing his tongue. So along with Naruto, Sasuke was quietly dying at his side.

Wordlessly, Kakashi shifted Naruto's body and laid him down merely inches away from Sasuke's. Naruto's face scrunched up and his eyes fluttered open, the previous sinister-looking purple replaced by his friendly cobalt blue.

"K-Kakashi?"

The jounin was at his side in a minute. He put his hand on naruto's shoulder, wanting to reassure him. "You should rest, Naruto."

The orange shinobi ignored him, continuing with, "P-Promise me something." It wasn't a question, but a command.

"What is it?"

"You'll take care of Sakura-chan when I'm gone, won't you?" he rasped.

Kakashi sighed, wiping away blood off of Naruto's Hitai-ate. "Just... wait, Naruto. Help will come soon. Don't give up so soon."

"Ka...Kashi... please?"

What was the silver haired ninja to do? He couldn't let Naruto die without a last wish. But he hadn't exactly fulfilled in the past when it came to keeping promises like that. He always failed. "...Alright, Naruto."

Naruto smiled softly. He inhaled shakily. "Good," he breathed out on the exhale. And it was the last breath he took.

"Dammit," Kakashi cursed, pressing his hands against the blond's chest and pumping down. "Dammit Naruto, wake up!" He growled.

* * *

Kiba and Akamaru emerged from the trees, seeing the damage done around them. The first body Kiba noticed was Kabuto's twisted corpse lying disfigured in the dirt, eyes dull and lifeless behind the shine on his glasses. His neck was turned all the way around so his head was facing his back. Kiba turned his head away from the grotesque body, searching instead for...

"Kakashi!" The Inuzuka shouted, seeing three bodies and only one left standing. He patted Sakura's leg in a silent order that she stay on the large dog and he and Akamaru dashed over to the kneeling Kakashi.

The sight of the Uchiha's body made bile risein the Inuzuka's throat. The Uchiha looked... beaten to a pulp. His face was swollen beyond recognition and patterned with ugly black and purple bruises over its every inch. There was a gash over his right eye that was still leaking blood and his body... it looked like it was crushed by bolders. What had Naruto done?

"Kakashi..."

"Kiba, call for a medic squad. Where's the rest of your team?" Kakashi snapped, pumping the unconcious Naruto's chest. Kiba looked the blonde over for signs of any damage, but Naruto didn't have a scratch on him. Compared to Sasuke, Naruto was fit as a fiddle. So what was wrong with him?

Kiba didn't know what to answer first. "I brought- Well, my team wasn't fast enough and we thought it was an emergency so I came ahead with Akamaru and Sakura. They should be here soo-"

Kakashi whipped his head to face Kiba. "Where's Sakura?" he asked as the pink haired kunoichi in question jumped haphazardly off the back of Akamaru. She held onto her protruding belly with one hand, doing her best to jog over to them. She dropped down onto her knees beside them, gently cupping the unconscious Uzumaki's cheek and rubbing her thumb over the faint whisker marks on his skin. It was still warm...

"Naruto... Please. Please wake up," she whispered, moving her the fingers of her free hand over his chest. The hand glowed green as chakra spilled into the blonde's body.

"Sakura..." Kakashi began.

Sakura shook her head, not removing her hand even though Kakashi obviously wanted her not to do what she was doing. "He has a pulse, right? He's alive, then. He just has to breathe on his own, and he'll be okay," she whispered.

Kakashi turned his head down again, continuing his empty attempts at CPR.

* * *

_'what is this? Where am I?'_

"Naruto... Please. Please wake up." The voice was far away. He could barely make it out.

_Still, his heart leaped at the sound. What was that? He had a heart?_

"Naruto..."

_There it was again. Was he... Naruto?_

_He looked around, planting solid feet on solid ground. There was feet? He had ground? He looked around, seeing blanch whiteness and nothingness all around him._

_"Naruto?"_

_That was from near him. He turned around, seeing someone that shouldn't be there._

_"Sasuke..." Hm, he had a voice, too._

_The someone came closer, slowly and hesitantly. They studied one another, both not quite understanding this._

_"Brother..." The word came from the someone - Sasuke's- mouth._

_Naruto's heart leaped again. Was he... A brother to someone?  
_

_"You... Saved me, Naruto. I ...Thank you," Sasuke said. _

_Memories flashed in his mind. "I killed you. I'm sorry."_

_"I killed you first." The slightest hint of a smile appeared on Sasuke's face as a hand was held out. Sasuke's hand. "We're even now."_

_Naruto hesitated but eventually grasped it tightly, looking into his brother's eyes. "We're even."_

_There was crying, like a child. Naruto turned his head, seeing something curled up in the distance. He turned back to Sasuke, but he was gone now. Like a wind. Was there wind here? He turned back to the something-curled-up-in-the-distance and realized he was closer than he thought. The something-curled-up-in-the-distance was just at his feet. When had it moved? Did he move?_

_The something was a child. A small child with messy blonde hair and rags for clothes and whisker marks on his face. The kid was crying._

_"Why are you crying?"_

_The child looked up from his knees. His eyes were purple. "I'm alone. I don't have anybody."_

_"Do you want somebody?"_

_The child nodded. Tear stains crawled lazily down his cheeks. "So bad._

_"I'll be your somebody._

_The kid grinned. "Really? But... but you don't know me."_

_He smiled. "So? Strangers are just friends you haven't made yet." He squatted down at eye level with the kid. "I'll be your somebody and you'll be mine. And I'll introduce you to all my other somebodies and they'll be yours, too."_

_The kid frowned. "I don't want to share you. You're _my _somebody. Why can't we just be somebody for each other, and nobody else?"_

_Naruto smiled and put a hand on the kid's head. "But that's the magic of having somebodies. The more you get, the more room you have for more. It's a growing process. Iruka-sensei was my first somebody." As if the memory of his old teacher conjured him up, the image of Iruka-sensei appeared beside the young boy and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling. "And then I had room for Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme." Those images appeared beside the younger blonde, too. "And the third hokage, the konoha eleven, team gai, Tsunade-baa-chan, Ero-sennin, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro..." Soon, the crowd surrounding the young blonde was massive. "I'll share all these somebodies with you, and they'll be your somebodies, too."_

_The kid smiled, looking left and right with glistening purple eyes. "Thank you..."_

_"Heh heh, no problem, kid. What's your name?"_

_"U-Uzumaki Naruto," the kid stammered.  
_

_Naruto grinned, giving the kid a thumbs-up."Hey, that's my name, too! We're two cool dudes, huh?"_

_"Naruto-kun."_

_Naruto turned his head again to see in front of him, only yards away, was the biggest furball he'd ever seen in his life. A fox that looked like it could swallow him in one gulp. But he wasn't afraid, and that may or may not have something to do with the chains encircling the beast, the end of which was held by a redhead with eerily familiar blue eyes. Beside the woman was a man with shocking blonde hair and blue eyes that were a shade off from the woman's._

_"Naruto..." The woman mouthed silently. Naruto's mouth opened slightly, his body filled with apprehension. He took a step, a single step towards the woman, and suddenly found himself only a foot away, staring directly into her eyes._

_The word left his mouth without his knowledge. "Mom?" he whispered, reaching a hand out._

_The woman nodded with eyes weighed with sadness, taking his hand and bringing it to her chest, "I didn't want to see you here so soon, Naruto-kun."_

_The man's hand rested on his shoulder. "I never imagined that you would die young. I wanted to prevent this."_

_Naruto met the man's eyes, his own widening. "You're the... fourth hokage."_

_The man nodded._ _"I am."_

_Naruto's mother squeezed his fingers. "He's your father."_

_"My... father? B-But if you're here, does that mean th-that I'm..."_

_**"Kit..."** Naruto's eyes glanced up to see the furball looking down at him with an intense expression on its fox-y features._ "**_You're dead."_**

_His mom's hand that held the chain tugged harshly on it. The Kyuubi whimpered and growled. "We found him wandering. Do you want him back?" She asked, holding out the chain as if the fox was nothing more than a naughty pet._

_Naruto looked up at the kyuubi. "I have a choice?" _

_The fourth and his father, Namikaze Minato, nodded his head softly. "I didn't give you much of a choice for it last time. I figured I would ask you this time."_

_Naruto swallowed hard, looking into his father's eyes. "I have to ask you something first."_

* * *

_Gaki studied the game more closely. Something didn't look right. He picked up his piece, flipping it over and seeing a symbol Oji used to mark his favorite pieces. He frowned._

_"Hey Oji?"_

_"Yeah, Gaki?"_

_"You messed with my piece," he accused._

_"No I didn't."_

_"Then what's _this_?" He asked, showing him the symbol._

_Oji raised an eyebrow. "Looks like my symbol... Hmm. How did that get there, I wonder." He picked up his own favorite piece. "Seems like I destroyed two. I'll have to send one back," he mumbled, placing his original favorite back._

_"That was your plan all along, you big cheat!" Gaki shouted. He grabbed his own favorite and rubbed anxiously at the dark symbol on the back. "You can't do that!_"

_"I just did."_

_The mark disappeared. Gaki threw it back on the board, smirking triumphantly. "And I did that!"_

_"You can't! The game doesn't work that way!"_

_"It doesn't work your way either, you big cheat. The pieces are tied so if yours goes back, so does mine."_

_"Gaki..."_

_"Oji..."_

_They stared one another down._

_Finally, Gaki exploded. "I don't want to play with you anymore!"_

_"Me either, you little brat!"_

_Silence ensued. Neither moved away from the game._

_Oji picked up the piece. "I still want to play..."_

_"...me, too."_

_"Should we give them up again?" Oji asked, looking hopefully at the brat._

_Gaki paused and shook his head. "Here." He wiped a part of his symbol off, the part that bonded that piece to the other. Then he put the piece back. "We'll play this way."_

_The old man looked skeptical but still copied what Gaki did. "Is that allowed?"_

_"Now it is," Gaki said with a cheeky grin. "Now we'll let the best man win."_

_"You're on, Gaki."_

* * *

There were beads of sweat pooling on Sakura's forehead and her breathing was ragged as she pumped more and more of her chakra into Naruto's chest.

"Naruto... Please. Please wake up. I can't do this without you."

"Sakura, stop," Kakashi urged her gently. "It's too late."

She shook her head. "I can't... There's still a pulse."

Kakashi's hand covered hers. "Sakura, stop," he said more firmly. He grabbed her hands, pushing them away. "Just because there's a heartbeat doesn't mean he's alive. There hasn't been any oxygen to his brain for five minutes. Even if he came back now, he'll be brain dead and he'll never wake up. All you're doing is depleting yourself now."

Sakura's dams broke and she found herself with white hot tears cascading down her cheeks. "I can't do this alone, Kakashi-sensei. I can't."

He grasped her shoulders. "You don't have a choice Sakura. You need to be strong." His eyes glanced at the woman's belly. "For both of you."

"Guys?" Kiba interrupted. "Something's happening with Sasuke."

Kakashi kept his eyes on Sakura. "Sasuke's dead, Kiba."

"Not anymore..." the Inuzuka replied, staring down at the Uchiha's swollen face as tears mixed with blood cascaded down the black and blue cheeks. The Uchiha tried to speak or cry out, but the sounds were distorted and muffled.

Muffled as they were, Kakashi still heard them. He rushed over, looking over the crying Uchiha. Sure enough, he was alive. Alive and in indescribable pain. His eyes were panicked and darting around wildly, his breathing ragged.

"The poor bastard can feel all of it," Kiba whispered. He turned to Sakura, who appeared next to them. "Sakura, can you...?"

"I can try to do something..."

Kakashi grasped Sakura's arm before she could make a move. "You won't do any help, except for further exhausting yourself. Sit down and rest. Kiba, call those medics."

"No need," erupted from the edge of the clearing as Hinata, Kurenai, and Shino joined the group. It was Kurenai that spoke. "They're already on their way. Kakashi, what's the status on the situation?"

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. At least there were reinforcements now, even if they weren't the kind they needed, "Still trying to figure that out, Kurenai," Kakashi muttered as he helped the pregnant Sakura sit down. "Can you look over Sakura and make sure she and the baby are alright?"

Kurenai nodded, but sat down next to the quivering and broken Sasuke first. "May I?" She asked Kakashi, who nodded. She made a hand sign and looked into the pain and frightened gaze of the Uchiha. They stared at one another until slowly, Sasuke's gaze softened and his eyes closed again.

"What did you do?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"I made him numb for a little while, at least until the medics can come and do more for him." She patted the Uchiha's hand softly and went to kneel beside Sakura. "You don't look very healthy yourself."

The pinkette rolled her eyes. "Yeah well you wouldn't look very 'healthy' either if the father of your child was dead." She winced and grabbed her stomach.

Kurenai ignored the jab and gave her attention to the girl's belly. "What was that?" She asked, placing a hand on top of Sakura's.

The pregnant woman shook her head. "N-Nothing, just a kick. I think." She didn't look too sure.

"Kicks shouldn't hurt that much, Sakura," Kurenai said with a frown.

Sakura waved her off. "The baby's just strong, that's all," she breathed out, panting. "I need to rest."

Kurenai pushed her back on the grass, nodding. "You should lie down."

"Kakashi," Shino called from where he stood gazing down at Naruto's body. "Was Naruto 'dead', too?"

* * *

_A sharp thud shot through Naruto's chest, right where his heart should be. But he was dead, he didn't have a heart... Did he? He was still really confused about all this._

_"Are you okay, Naruto?" Minato asked him, worry creasing his forehead._

_"I think so..." Naruto mumbled, wincing at a second thud in his chest. Then a third. Suddenly it was a continuous, steady beating. Like a heartbeat. "I think... My heart's beating."_

_Minato's eyes widened while Kushina smiled softly. "It was nice finally meeting you, Naruto-kun. Hopefully we won't meet again for a very long time."_

_"Wait!" Was his body fading or was that just his imagination? "I-I need to ask you this. The kyuubi has been nothing but a pain in my ass since I was a kid. I didn't have a single friend for the longest time, no one wanted me around, and its chakra killed me. So I just need to know... Why me? Why did you do this to your own son?"_

_Minato's eyes grew sad. "I should be honest with you. We could have killed it. Your mother was the previous Jinchuuriki of the Nine tails and wanted to destroy the kyuubi when she died, but her plan was stupid." That earned him a thunk on his head from his wife. "Ouch! It was a long shot, I should say. But I had a much better idea." Another thunk. "Ow Kushina-chan... It wouldn't kill the Kyuubi, but it would save the village. I decided to seal it in a new host, but I didn't want to burden anyone else by cursing their kid with this. And I knew you, because you're an Uzumaki, would be able to handle it without dying. Plus, I wanted to help you the best I could so I sealed him inside of you." His eyes were downcast. "I knew it would be an obstacle, but I believed in you. I still do. I know you'll use the fox to be someone great."_

_Kushina nudged him. "He already is someone great, Minato-kun."_

_Minato waved her away. "I mean greater than me!"_

_Kushina thunked him over the head again and Naruto laughed at his parents' antics. He would have really enjoyed getting to know them. "You're on, old man! I'll be the greatest hokage ever!"_

_"The orange hokage," Kushina mused._

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to a blur of unknown shapes and colors. He groaned and tried to sit up, but realized he couldn't move. But he could feel the soft blades of grass tickling every bare inch of his skin, so he knew he wasn't paralyzed. He groaned.

"Naruto-kun?" A voice, female, called out to him. He squinted, his eyes focusing on the pink hair, green eyes, and beautiful face of his girlfriend.

He felt a lazily smile pulling over his lips. "S-Sak'ra-chan?" He slurred.

The girl squealed and through her arms around him so tight that he was pretty sure he'd meet his parents again sooner rather than later. "Naruto-kun, you're okay! I was so scared... I thought you were dead, baka! Never do this to me again!"

He nodded, feeling dizzy suddenly. He swallowed a dry lump in his throat. "I was dead, Sakura-chan.I was afraid I'd never see you again."

"Stay quiet, Naruto. Save your strength until the medics come," she murmured, running a hand over his forehead. "I'm here now. Try to rest."

"I know. But I realize that life's real short, Sakura-chan. You never know how much time you've got."

"Naruto, shut it," Sakura ordered him again.

He groaned, closing his eyes. "Marry me."

"_Naru_-!" Sakura paused, eyes going wide when she realized exactly what he'd just said. "What?"

He opened his eyes to stare at her again. "I said, marry me. I love you, Sakura-chan. I want to spend the rest of my life, no matter how short or long it is, with you."

Sakura's eyes watered. "Oh, Naruto-kun! Of course I'll-!"

"Sakura, are you peeing on yourself?" Kiba shouted incredulously, pointing at the puddle of water beneath pooling beneath her and the dampness between her legs.

Sakura's heart stopped as she looked at the water, knowing instantly what happened but unable to say the words. Another "kick" banged against her stomach.

"K-Kurenai-se-sensei?" Hinata quipped. "H-How far away is that m-medic squad?"

Kurenai, who was back to tending to the most manageable of Sasuke's wounds, looked over her shoulder at the others. "Not sure. They should be here shortly, I'm sure. Why?"

"B-Because I'm pretty sure my water just broke," Sakura breathed out, holding her stomach. "Four months early."

* * *

Sakura, after fainting after her declaration, woke up in the one of the stark-white, fluorescent-lit room of Konoha's hospital, the familiar beeping of monitors helping to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"Sakura-chan! You had me worried you'd never wake up." Sakura's eyes followed the sound of the voice to find Naruto sitting by her bedside, grasping one of her hands. He had a bandage on his upper eyebrow, his hands were wrapped in gauze, but otherwise he looked fine.

"Naruto-kun... you're okay." She smiled, reaching out with her other hand and rubbing his cheek.

Naruto returned the soft smile with one of his own. "Yeah, more than I thought I'd be. Sakura-chan, I'm not sick anymore."

Her smile widened and she tried to sit up to envelope him in a hug."Naruto, that's great!" she exclaimed. "You're not sick at all? Not even a little? How long have I been asleep?"

"Not even a little. Tsunade doesn't know how, but all the burns on my insides just... cured themselves. And you've only been asleep for a day." The Uzumaki immediately pushed her back down. "You have to lie down though, Sakura-chan."

"Hm? Why, Naruto-kun?"

A voice from the doorway answered her. "Because you were sent into a stress-induced early labor. Rare, but it happens."

Sakura's heart sped up, making the monitors hooked up to her whine. A labor that early was extremely unsafe. Babies rarely survived when they were born this soon. They can forget how to breathe, they're severely underweight and underdeveloped, they can't open their eyes, and they're sensitive to light. When they were born this early, they were barely babies - they were more like expansions of tubes and wires. She couldn't imagine her baby being like that.

But when Sakura looked instinctively down at her belly, it was still round and protruding with life. "I'm still pregnant," she said, confused.

Tsunade crossed her arms. "Lucky for you, we were able to get you here in time and I was able to slow things down for you a little. You shouldn't be delivering anytime soon _if_ you abide by my rules. I'm putting you on strict bed rest until the baby's born. You need your feet up at all times. For the next month, I need you lying down completely. It is very important for this baby, and you, that you make it to your eighth month at the very least. Also, you need to control your emotions a little better. One shout at Naruto and you could have a premie on your hands."

Sakura nodded slowly. Kami, she was a horrible mother. Her baby wasn't even born yet and she was already putting the poor girl's life in danger. She set her fingertips over her belly, feeling for her baby. "I'm sorry, darling. Mommy will do better from now on."

"Sakura," Tsunade huffed.

Sakura turned to meet the angry and intense eyes of her shissou. "Y-Yes?"

Tsunade entered the room, coming to stand at the end of Sakura's bed. "I have been fairly well-tempered with you lately, haven't I? When you told me you were pregnant so young, I didn't try to wring your neck like I wanted to. When you had to take off work due to the spawn brewing inside you, I didn't hunt you down and drag you there kicking and screaming. I've even started to go softer on you at the hospital and pulled back your hours, even though it is your responsibility. But now it is taking _every ounce _of my limited self control not to do an emergency c-section so I can have the reward of pummeling you from here to Suna," the hokage barked.

"S-Shissou," Sakura stammered, knowing that her mentor would probably make good on her threat if she found a good enough reason to throw caution to the wind.

"No! You don't get to talk, Sakura. Not when you show such complete disregard for my feelings, your life, and the life of your child. Not when you run around as if there isn't something special growing inside you and toss yourself into suicide situations. You are damn _lucky_ that nothing happened to you and I was able to stop the labor in time."

"Tsunade-shissou, I'm sorry," Sakura whimpered, feeling like she might cry. Damned hormones.

"Sorry doesn't cut it this time, Sakura. It doesn't cut it for any of you. You all blatantly disobeyed a direct order from me and there has to be some punishment for that." She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the couple. "Starting now, all members of team seven will be placed on a mission ban for the duration of a probation period of five months. That shouldn't be too hard for you all, seeing as how Sakura is on bed rest and you, Uzumaki brat, will probably have your hands full taking care of your pregnant girlfriend. I'm sure Kakashi will probably find _some_ way to occupy his time."

Sakura nodded, understanding that Tsunade was being more lenient than she needed to be."T-Thank you, Shissou."

"Fiance," Naruto corrected the Hokage as if that was the only part he heard.

Tsunade's anger faltered, but she quickly composed her facial features again. "You're getting... married?" she asked.

Naruto grabbed one of Sakura's hands in one of his and nodded. "Yup!" But then his confidence seemed to waver, and he looked down at Sakura's face. "Although you never got a chance to answer me before your water broke."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She pulled his hand to lay it on her chest over her hear. "Of course I will, Naruto-kun."

His face cracked apart with a grin big enough to cure all the hatred in the world. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. You just made me that happiest man on the planet."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're so cheesy. You're lucky I love you, Naruto."

"I love you, too." He kissed her forehead before moving his lips to her belly, pulling the blankets back and kissing it. "And I love you."

Tsunade made a gagging noise, turning away from the soon-to-be parents. "I need a drink."

"Ah, Baa-chan, wait!" Naruto called before she could take her leave.

Tsunade paused, looking at him over her shoulder. "Yes, brat?"

Naruto swallowed hard. "How... How's Sasuke?"

The Hokage turned completely around, her expression softening. "He's slipped into a coma, unfortunatey. We aren't sure when he'll wake up, but we're trying to remain positive. We managed to reattach his tongue and his burns are on their way to recovering. But his body... it was badly damaged both by Orochimaru and how tightly the chakra chains crushed him. If he wakes up, the road to recovery will be long and painful. I'm not even sure if... at this point... he'll be able to return to the life of a shinobi."

Naruto frowned, looking down at his hands. What kind of a friend was he?

"Naruto," Tsunade called softly, "you saved him. Remember that." She turned and walked out, closing the door softly behind her.

Sakura was too caught up in the baby in her stomach and the thoughts of her wedding to notice the sudden sadness brewing in her boyfriend - fiance. "It's just sad that we won't be married by the time she's born."

"Don't worry. At least now, _he_ can be a baby ring bearer!"

Sakura smirked. "Or a flower girl."

Naruto scowled. "It's a boy."

"Girl."

"Boy!"

"_Girl!_"


	44. Chapter 44

**Thanks to:  
25BAM50  
Silent Bunshin  
ahmadaziz  
Duesal10  
The Keeper of Worlds  
gohan108  
The portalmaster  
Deadman19  
xxnarufanxx  
Exxcaliburr  
**

**For reviewing last chapter. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 44**

**[One month later]**

Naruto sat at the bedside of his bestfriend, his feet propped up on Sasuke's nightstand that only had one 'Get Well Soon' card on its surface - and that one was brought by Naruto himself. It was strange really. No one seemed to be fond of the idea that the Uchiha was back in town. In the month since the unconscious Uchiha's return, there hadn't been _one_ visitor except for Naruto. And maybe that was why the blonde shinobi was so inclined to sneak out while his girlfriend was napping to pay him a visit.

He sighed, moving his feet and tilting his chair back on two legs, looking over his friend. Over the month, he'd started to look a lot better. Since the slow regeneration of his tongue, the lower half of his face's swelling had gone down completely and the bruises were gone, too. Since he was in a coma, he had a feeding tube and other various wires sticking out of every inch of his even paler arms and chest. But all things considered, he looked a lot better.

"Tsunade did my last exam the other day. It's true, teme, I'm not dying anymore. Isn't that great?" Naruto asked his shell of a friend. He'd gotten into the habit of talking to him, even if he couldn't talk back. "Now I can go back on missions. Well, as soon as this stupid probation is over." He chuckled, leaning back further on his chair. "Maybe I'll start training again after Sakura-chan gets situated at home. I don't want you to wake up and think I've gone soft. We'll be sparring together in no time, and we'll be a real team again." His face grew sorrowful and he put all the chair's legs back on the ground.

"I'm really sorry, Sasuke. I didn't mean to... If I thought that we could have..."

"Naruto?"

Naruto glanced up towards the door, seeing Tsunade standing there waiting for him. He stood up abruptly, pasting a smile on his face and scratching the back of his head. "Hey, Baa-chan! Did Sakura-chan wake up yet?"

Tsunade nodded, crossing her arms. "Yes, and she's ready to leave. If I were you, I'd hurry. Shizune gave her an orange stress ball but I don't know how long that will last before she wants to replace it with your head."

Naruto paled significantly and ran out the door. "H-Hai, Baa-chan! Seeya later, teme!" he called behind him, rushing down the halls.

"BAKA! No running in my hospital!"

Neither seemed to notice the eyelid twitch on the comatose Uchiha patient.

* * *

Naruto got into the room just as Sakura's fists squeezed mercilessly down on her stress ball and popped it. And those things weren't meant to pop.

Naruto swallowed hard, continuing to stand in the doorway. "H-Hey, Sakura-chan. How long have you been up from your nap?"

Sakura settled her angry green gaze on him, tossing the scraps of the punctured ball on the floor. She gave a sickening sweet smile, pushing herself to sit up in bed. "Just long enough to realize that a stupid blonde fiance of mine deserted me as soon as he got the chance even though he _knows_ that I'm sick of this hospital and ready to go home."

Since Sakua-chan went a month without going into labor and could now sit up in bed, she was able to leave and continue the duration of her pregnancy at home. Even if she would still be on bed rest, it would be ten times better than sitting in a stuffy hospital room all day.

"B-But Sakura-chan, you work in a hospital all the time. I couldn't even get you to stop your night shifts when you were first starting to show."

A nerve popped in Sakura's forehead. "Are you trying to justify yourself, Naruto-baka?" she seethed as Shizune slipped another stress ball into Sakura's hand, which the pinkette went right into squeezing. That would be her tenth one this week...

"N-No, Sakura-chan. G-Gomen." He swallowed again as a few other nurses brought in a wheelchair for his soon-to-be wife. In sync, he and Tsunade moved over to Sakura's bed. Tsunade grabbed her feet while Naruto grabbed her shoulders. "Ready Sakura-chan?" he asked in her ear.

Sakura continued to squeeze the ball as her anger at her fiance dissipated. "More than ready," she replied. Together, eh and Tsunade lifted her out of bed and settled her in the chair. The nurses put her feet up almost instantly and Naruto covered her legs with a blanket.

"Off to home," Naruto whispered to her, kissing her forehead.

* * *

"Naruto-kun...?" Sakura asked warily, not completely familiar with the side of town they were heading towards, which was a problem. She and Naruto had both agreed that they would stay in her apartment until the baby was born. It would be a tight fit, but Sakura figured she could convert the dining room into a nursery until they could move into a bigger place. What with their wedding and the inevitable expenses they would have after the baby was born, they didn't have the finances to move somewhere else right now, especially since they couldn't go on missions for a while. "Where are we going?"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, just sit back and relax," Naruto said from behind her where he was pushing her chair.

"This isn't heading towards home," Sakura protested, tilting her head up to glare at her fiance.

Naruto grinned boyishly and leaned down, pecking her scowling lips. "Worrying isn't good for the baby, Sakura-chan," he teased her.

She wanted to hit him. Her fingers twitched to hit him. But she refrained, closing her eyes and taking in deep breaths to calm herself. But she swore if Naruto had done something stupid...

Naruto stopped her in front of a gate that fenced off a house with a paved walkway that led up to a red painted door. The house itself was big and beautiful, like the kind of house Sakura would want to own in different circumstances.

"Naruto, this is no time for visits. I'm tired," Sakura sighed, just looking at the beautiful house enough to make her sad.

"I know. That's why I brought you home," Naruto said with a big grin, walking from behind her and up to the gate. He pulled out a key and unlocked it, throwing it open with a flourish.

Sakura met his expectant face with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. "Naaruto-kun... We... Naruto, we can't afford this," Sakura hissed at him. She was angry that she had something like this in her grasp and now she had to give it away. "We talked about this."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I know but, uh, jeez. Where do I start? It's kind of a long story. Remember how I started looking up some stuff on my parents?" he asked, starting to wheel her up the long path that led to the front door.

"...Yes?"

"Well, it turns out my dad was the only hokage not to never live in the hokage tower. He and my mom had their own house. So I did some digging to find out where it was and... this is it," Naruto finished, stopping in front of the door. "No one has lived in it in eighteen years, since they died. And it turns out that now it's mine. Ours," he corrected. He saw the way Sakura's eyes began to well up with tears and he frowned. "Oh no, do you not like it, Sakura-chan? Is it the paint or is the walkway too long? Is it too big?" he asked.

"Baka, of course not! It's perfect," Sakura replied, wanting to throw herself into his arms but was constricted by the chair. Naruto seemed to understand what she wanted and kneeled to wrap his arms around her and the baby. "I love it, Naruto. Thank you."

Naruto grinned and stood up again. "Yeah well, that's not it. You still haven't seen the best part yet," he teased, opening the door. He wheeled her in and flicked on the light, shutting the door behind them.

"Surprise!" was shouted as about four people jumped from the shadows and nearly gave her a heart attack. "Welcome home, Sakura," Ino added, holding a paintbrush. Sakura grasped at her chest and tried to even her breathing as she glanced at the smiling faces of her friends who were all holding home-improvement tools: Ino with a paintbrush still dripping with paint, Hinata with a broom and dustpan, Kiba somehow covered in paint even though he held window cleaner, and Tenten holding a duster.

From behind her, Naruto sounded annoyed. "I told you guys not to do that! Sakura-chan can't handle surprises right now."

Kiba shrugged. "We overruled you. One against four."

Sakura was still trying to gather her thoughts. "What's is... going on?"

Naruto sighed. "I needed help getting the house ready for you and the baby. No one has lived in here for eighteen years. It was dusty and gross." He made a face. "But I think we cleaned up alright."

Sakura looked around, taking in the spacious living room with windows that led out to a beautiful backyard, the kitchen off to the side, and the hallway that led to what she assumed were the bedrooms. Her eyes settled there as she bit her lip.

Naruto again seemed to read her mind. "Want to see the nursery?" he asked.

Sakura nodded and they left the group, traveling down the hallway. The door was a deep sea blue that reminded Sakura of Naruto's eyes. Naruto pushed the door open and she gasped.

The room was painted a soft blue-green with multi-colored swirls over every inch of the four walls. The baseboard was white and had adorable little orange foxes running along it with nine tails flapping behind them. The crib was blue and sat in one corner of the room, making room for the giant rug that made a map of konoha on the floor. The wall to their left was occupied by white shelves and a changing table. For a second, Sakura allowed herself to be in awe over Naruto's hard decorating work. But then something about the colors hit her...

"Naruto-kun..." she began sweetly. "These colors aren't really suitable for a baby girl."

"That's because we're having a boy, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied simply.

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura's eyebrow twitched as she tilted her head up to glare at her fiance. "What if I have a girl? You can't just try to influence the baby's gender by painting the room in boy colors!" she snapped.

Naruto shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Sakura grit her teeth. "NA-RU-TO..."

Naruto swallowed, watching her anger begin to bubble over. "Ah, w-wait Sakura-chan. Don't get too angry. I-It's not good for the baby," he warned her, holding his head in case she decided to swing.

Seconds passed, but finally the tension in the room fell away. "Naruto-baka," Sakura muttered, crossing her arms. "The room's... lovely," she bit out.

Naruto breathed out in relief. _Phew! _"Great. Now that you're finally on board, what are we going to name our son?"

* * *

That night, Naruto sat on the kitchen counter trying to ice the bruise Sakura gave him on his face. Apparently Sakura can only control so much of her anger before she snapped. Which, he was sure wasn't good for _his_ health. He grumbled, setting the ice pack in the sink and getting ready to head back in the room where Sakura lay sleeping peacefully in their new bed. Of course, _she_ didn't have any problems sleeping because _she_ didn't have an throbbing ache pounding against her face all night.

There was a poof, and suddenly Kakashi was standing in his living room. "Yo."

Naruto jumped half a mile into the air. "Kakashi!" he barked. "What the hell are you doing in my house in the middle of the night!?"

"I have news," Kakashi replied with a smile, pulling out his little orange book and sticking his nose in it.

Naruto's eye twitched. "It couldn't wait until morning?"

"I figured you would want to know as soon as possible. It's important." Kakashi pulled the book away from his eye to meet Naruto's expectant face. "Sasuke just woke up."

Naruto's eyes got wide. He made the hand motions to poof away before he happened to glance at his closed bedroom door at the end of the hall. He frowned and made a shadow clone instead. "Watch over Sakura-chan until I get back. It shouldn't take too long," he instructed it. The clone nodded and disappeared into the bedroom. Naruto turned and met Kakashi's eyes, jerking his thumb towards the window in the living room. "I don't want to wake Sakura-chan by using the door."

Kakashi sighed. "After you."

* * *

**[At the hospital]**

Naruto stood outside the door, trying to muster up the courage to just knock or open the door or _something, _but he was frozen to the spot by fear. What if Sasuke wasn't as grateful to him as he'd seemed in their deaths? What if Sasuke actually hated him now and he was just waiting to get his strength back before he could try to kill him again? Of course, Sasuke wouldn't be able to do it now that Naruto was at full strength, but Naruto didn't know if he could handle that kind of thing now. He wanted so badly for everything to just turn out happily for him and his friends. Sasuke turning to the darkside again would crush him.

"Naruto... Open the door," Kakashi ordered him dryly, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. "We've been standing here for five minutes and you haven't lifted a finger."

Naruto swallowed and raised his fist, knocking. Then he waited.

"Come in," a voice too high to be Sasuke's answered. Naruto looked at Kakashi questioningly but Kakashi ignored him and opened the door, shoving him inside. Naruto stumbled as he heard the door click behind him, but then did a quick surveillance of the room. It was the same as it was when he left it this morning but instead of an unconscious Uchiha heir lying in the bed, a conscious and alert Sasuke was sitting up as Tsunade pressed the end of her stethoscope to his back.

Naruto didn't allow his fear to creep up on him and choke him again. "H-Hey, Sasuke-teme."

Sasuke's dark obsidian eyes flew up to meet Naruto's apprehensive ones. A slow smirk spread over the Uchiha's lips. "Dobe."

"How are you?"

The Uchiha shrugged. "I've been better, I've been worse." Tsunade finished his exam and grabbed his chart off the end of his bed.

"I'm going to go check up on your test results, Uchiha," she said coolly, heading out the door and dragging Kakashi after her.

Sasuke chuckled. "I don't think she likes me."

"That'll be a first." Naruto walked over and sat down in the chair at Sasuke's bedside. "Listen, Sasuke..."

Sasuke held up his hand to stop him. "Don't you remember, Dobe? We had this conversation before. I already forgive you."

"But I killed you, Sasuke!"

"I killed you first. We're even," Sasuke replied evenly, lying back on his pillows.

"But because of me, you might never get to be a shinobi again! I ruined you for life!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I choose not to believe when people tell me I will never accomplish something. I'll never give up. Isn't that what you used to say, dobe?"

"But I-!"

"Shut up, will you? You can't be this stupid. Only you would keep trying to feel guilty after someone relieves you of the blame. I'm fine, Naruto. I'm alive and in control of my own body because of you. So shut up about it." Naruto continued to hang his head in shame so Sasuke changed the subject. "I've never heard of someone coming back to life twice before. How did you manage to do that, huh?"

And so Naruto filled Sasuke in on everything he missed out on in the last two years, and things he didn't know about the last five years. He told him about his journeys with Jiraiya and how powerful Sakura has become in her training with Tsunade.

At the mention of Sakura, Sasuke smirked. "Oh, right. I've been meaning to ask about that. Just before everything went black, I happen to remember her being a lot fatter than she was when I last saw her."

"Teme..." Naruto warned.

Sasuke waved him off. "I know she's pregnant, dobe. Relax. But I was wondering if you had anything to do with it."

Naruto blushed and sputtered. "U-Uh yeah. We're having a baby together. And we're getting married."

Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes. "Good. I know you'll take care of her. You both deserve someone like each other. What are you having?"

"A boy," Naruto said proudly.

"Any name ideas?"

Naruto slumped. "Uh, no. Sakura and I can't agree on a gender, let alone a name."

Sasuke cracked open an eyelid. "Do you want some help? Two heads are definitely better than one," he offered.

"You know that if you help me name my son, you're his godfather," Naruto warned.

"It will be a public service. If the only male role model he'll have is you, he'll need a godfather like me to show him how to be respectful and civilized."

"Teme..."

* * *

**[Three Months Later]**

"AHHHH! Naruto I am going to _murder_ you!" Sakura shouted as yet another contraction tore through her body. As if she was trying to give her fiance a taste of what his future held, she squeezed his hand in a grip so tight the sound of grinding bones could be heard throughout the room.

"OW OW, Sakura-chan, you're hurting me," he whimpered.

"Don't talk to me about pain, baka! Do you have any," she hissed, "idea what you've done to me? I feel like I'm being torn apart from the inside!" she bit out before another contraction hit her and she whimpered at the pain.

"Alright Sakura, you're there. When I tell you to, I'm going to need you to push, alright?" Tsunade instructed her.

Sakura whimpered, nodding her head.

"Alright. One... Two... Three... push!"

She pushed. And screamed. And broke one of her fiance's fingers.

"Sakura!" Naruto whimpered.

She snapped her head at him. "I swear to kami, Naruto, if you say one more damned thing to me while I'm pushing out _your_ baby, I will fucking castrate you where you stand and this will be the _only_ child we have together!"

Tsunade was obviously ignoring the couple's one-sided bickering. "Push!"

"AHHH!"

"One more push Sakura, and then you'll meet your baby. Come on, one more."

And Sakura pushed with the remainder of her energy, screaming loud enough to probably disturb every new mother in the maternity ward. But it didn't matter, because she was soon rewarded with the crisp, healthy cry of her baby girl.

"It's a boy!

Or not.

"Told you so, Sakura-Chan," Naruto teased her, sticking his tongue out at her.

Not a good idea. Naruto barely saw the fist coming before he was sent flying through the air and through a wall, landing on the floor in the hallway.

"I told you to stop tempting me, Baka!" Sakura screamed at him.

"Sakura?" Tsunade asked, still holding the baby.

Sakura turned her head to look at her Shisou and instantly remembered the infant that was forgotten in her moment of blind anger. "Can... I hold him?" she asked softly, holding her arms out for him.

Tsunade smiled. "Of course. He's your baby." She took the blanket offered by one of the nurses and wrapped the newborn in it before handing him over to his mother. Almost instantly, the infant's cries stopped. "Oh, Sakura. He knows you," she cooed.

Sakura smiled at that. She liked the idea of her baby knowing her. She looked over him, taking in every detail of her little boy. She touched his little face with her finger, knowing that even though he was red now, he'd probably be the same golden hue as his father. Well, she hoped. He already had his dad's characteristic blonde hair, so it wasn't far fetched. The baby wriggled and opened his mouth to cry out in protest to something, so Sakura shifted him in her arms in hopes that it would relax him. He only wriggled more and Sakura looked up to see what could have possibly upset her baby already. Naruto had made his way back into the wall, rubbing the growing lump on his forehead.

"Sakura-chan... that really hurt," Naruto whined. At the sound of his voice, the little baby boy in Sakura's arms stopped squirming and opened his eyes for the first time to stare at Naruto with big, seafoam green eyes. Instantly, Naruto's own whining stopped. "Sakura-chan... he has your eyes."

Sakura nodded, feeling like she was about to cry. "Do you want to hold him?"

Naruto nodded silently and reached his arms out for his son. The baby boy's eyes fluttered closed upon impact with Naruto's warm chest, soothed for the moment. "He's beautiful," Naruto whispered in awe. "Hey there, little Hikaru."

Sakura smiled. "Hikaru. It fits him perfectly."

* * *

**[Six months later]**

"FOREHEAD!" Ino shrieked from the nursery as Hikaru's wails could be heard echoing throughout the house. "Your demon brat won't stop squirming! I can't even put his damn diaper on him!"

Sakura sighed, already stressed out at the day's events although it was barely seven in the morning. She'd been up for three hours and was beginning to wish this day would end and she could crawl back into bed. How could it be possible that the best day of her life was also the most stress-inducing?

Sakura made Tenten pause with her hair as she left the room and entered Hikaru's nursery where Ino continued to shriek at her six-month-old infant. Calmly, she walked over to the changing table and sweeped the crying child up. "Why are you causing so much trouble for Ino-pig, Hika-chan?" she asked sleepily, bouncing the baby on her hip.

"Don't call me that to him! He'll think it's my name!" Ino protested.

Sakura ignored her and laid out a diaper on the table. Hikaru had stopped crying and was now trying desperately to stick his entire fist in his mouth. Sakura expertly set her baby in the diaper on the table and snapped him up swiftly. Then she got him dressed in the outfit he would wear during the ceremony that it took her twelve hours to find. When she was finished, Sakura handed him back to Ino. "I'm trusting you to be able to take care of him for two weeks while Naruto-kun and I are on our honeymoon. That means being able to change his diaper, Pig."

Ino sighed and took the baby back. "It's not my fault the little brat hates me. Of all the people you could have chosen to reproduce with, it had to be the village's number one knucklehead, didn't it?" Ino asked, looking honestly displeased with the baby.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, Ino-pig, it did. Now stop whining, will you? It's not like you'll be completely on your own with him the whole time. Sasuke-kun agreed to help you, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah but-!"

"Then stop complaining."

Satisfied that Ino had things under control, Sakura went back to her room where Hinata and Tenten were still waiting to finish her hair and makeup. But as she opened the door, she was met not with her two friends, but with her fiance standing in front of her with a bouquet of roses.

"Baka!" Sakura hissed, trying to hide herself behind the bedroom door. "You aren't supposed to see me yet! It's not tradition!"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah well, I'm not really one for tradition." He moved the door away and swept her in his arms, handing Sakura the bouquet of roses. "I just had to see you. I'm not used to being apart from you this long, Sakura-chan," he said, kissing her sweetly.

Sakura couldn't help but blush as she accepted the flowers. "You're an idiot, Naruto-kun."

"Your idiot." He kissed her forehead before releasing her. "Where's Hika-chan?"

"Ino's watching him while I'm _supposed_ to be getting ready for our wedding day. By the way, what could you have possibly said to Tenten and Hinata to get them to let you in here? Tenten's being almost at militant about today as Ino is."

Naruto's eyes glinted mischievously. "Trust me, it didn't take much. It might not look like it, but Tenten's a sucker for a desperate lover." He winked at Sakura's appalled expression and went to sit on their king-sized bed. It was one of the only things in the home that were new: Naruto had wanted to preserve his parents' furniture in the house. But what he didn't know was that as soon as Sakura could go back to work and start earning money again, she was redecorating.

"Well, the ceremony's in three hours, Naruto-kun. I have to get ready, and so do you. So go back to Sasuke-kun's. Please? I don't want any mishaps today," Sakura pleaded.

Naruto frowned. "I didn't even get to see Hika-chan yet," he protested, pouting.

"You'll see him in three hours."

"But... he's never been away from me this long!"

Sakura's eye twitched. "And that's the problem. Shouldn't I be the one with separation issues, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "I just don't want to miss a second of his life. What if an attack happens and I'm..." He swallowed hard. "What if I'll never see him again?"

Sakura's face softened, realizing the reasoning behind Naruto's desire to spend every waking moment with his son. She walked over to him, placing herself in his lap and tossing her arms around his neck. "Naruto-kun, you won't ever have to worry about that, I promise. You survived too much to die anytime soon. You'll get to watch him grow up," she assured him, kissing his cheek.

Slowly, Naruto's tension eased away. "You mean it?"

"Yup." She smiled. "Now get out of here, will you? I have to get ready."

Naruto kissed her once more, backing towards the opened window where he probably came in. "I'll see you at the altar, Sakura-chan. I love you."

"Baka. I love you, too."

* * *

The wedding was... magnificent, to say the least. The two were married with very _few_ mishaps, though no one could say they weren't expecting _something_ to go wrong at Konoha's number one most unpredictable ninja's wedding. Of course, Naruto's vows were crude and poorly thought-out, though the sentiment was felt enough by his cherry blossom bride that she only hit him over the head half as hard as she _could_ have. Lee stood up halfway through Tsunade's marrying of the two in order to profess his love for Sakura-chan, only to promise right after that he would suppress his feelings for the good of the "youthful union of two of his closest friends." Hikaru almost ate the rings and cried when Naruto took them away from him so that Sakura and he could put their rings on one another, but the infant settled down when Tsunade threatened to send him back where he came from. Smart kid.

Anyway, the wedding was over and the citizens of Konoha were gathered in the center of the village for the reception. Honestly, Naruto did better than Sakura thought he would do on the decorating. The place was decked out with cherry blossom trees and orange and pink lanterns. Music flooded the center with beautiful tunes, the wind provided a comforting breeze to the warm night, and everything was just... perfect.

"What are you thinking about, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, resting his head on top of hers as they danced.

"How perfect this all is," Sakura replied, smiling softly. "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun."

He chuckled. "Ah, it was nothing, Sakura-chan. Only the best for you!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and separated as the song ended. She reached up with her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, taking his hand in hers at the same time. "Come on, Naruto-kun. I'm tired of dancing."

"Good." Naruto and Sakura both turned abruptly to see a frowning Tsunade holding a squirming Hikaru - who was pulling her hair. "Because you need to take your brat back before I punt him like a football. How many times do I have to tell people that I hate kids?" she grumbled, holding the child to it's parents and turning her head as if he disgusted her.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't even try it, baa-chan. You practically tore him out of Sakura's arms as soon as the wedding was over," he pointed out, taking his son and nuzzling his head. "Don't worry, Hika-chan. I won't let the mean old hag talk about you that way."

"... Who are you calling a hag, you idiotic brat!?" Tsunade shouted, holding up her fist. Sakura squeaked and quickly stole Hikaru out of Naruto's arms a mere second before Tsunade's fist connected with his face, sending him crashing int the buffet table. Sakura sighed in relief, balancing her trouble-making son on her hip.

"I'm sorry if he was too much trouble, shishou," Sakura apologized, bowing slightly.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Hmph. Don't worry about it." She crossed her arms, staring at the little infant. Slowly, her gaze softened until she was smiling gently. "He wasn't too much trouble, anyway." She reached out, petting the little boy's golden locks. "When Naruto manages to wake up, tell him I'm expecting him in my office first thing tomorrow morning. There are some matters I need to discuss with him."

"Hm? Like what, Shishou?"

Tsunade rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm starting to think it's about time I began prepping my successor to take my place, when the time comes. I might look young, but I should be relaxing at this point in my life. Time to pass the torch to some other unsuspecting brat."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Tsunade-shishou... does that mean...?"

The fifth hokage held up her hands, warding off her questions. "Nothing is set in stone yet. It could be quite some time before anything takes effect. But ultimately... yes, I've chosen Naruto to be my successor."

Sakura squealed. "I don't even know how he'll react! He'll be so happy, shishou. Thank you!"

Tsunade smiled. "Enjoy the rest of your wedding day, Sakura." She turned and left.

Sakura smiled down at her baby, who was desperately trying to grasp at the earing dangling from her ears. "Hika-chan, you might not be able to tell, but things were a little awful before you got here. Nothing seemed to be going right. But as soon as I found out that I was having you, everything seemed to fall into place. You must be my little good lucky charm."

"And mine, too! That hit didn't hurt as much as her punches usually do." Sakura looked up, seeing Naruto standing in front of her again and rubbing his head. He leaned down, kissing Hikaru's forehead, and then hers. "He's perfect, you know."

"I know. And so are you, future hokage-sama," Sakura said, pecking his lips softly. "Lady Tsunade wants to see you tomorrow, first thing."

Naruto frowned. "But Sakura-chan, our honeymoon-!"

"It can wait. This will be more important, I promise. We can leave right after, alright?"

Naruto sighed. "Alright, Sakura-chan. But what could be more important than our honeymoon?" he pouted.

Sakura ignored him, looking down just as Hikaru opened his mouth wide with a sleepy yawn. He gave up trying to steal his mother's earring and nestled up against her, cheek against her chest. "He's getting tired. Maybe we should get him home."

Naruto nodded. "I can't possibly say this enough, Sakura-chan. You've made me really happy over the years, something I thought I would never be again after everyone thought I was dead. I never thought that I could have any of this, you, Hika-chan... a family. I love it. I love you."

Sakura smiled. "I love you too, Naruto-kun. Let's go home."

* * *

**A/N FIN (Sorry it's late)**

**Yes, it's over. Happy ending for all, just as I promised. Very mushy, but I figured I owed you a happy ending after the story was filled with so much ANGST. **

**And, no, the baby wasn't named after Kurai. I figured he was too inertly evil to have an adorable baby named after him. **

**Tell me what you think!**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns? REVIEW!**


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